


How Am I Going To Be An Optimist About This?

by Velocity_Owl87



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Awkward Romance, Canonical Character Death, Childbirth, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Families of Choice, Forced Bonding, Gender Issues, Hopeful Ending, Major Character Injury, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Multi, Sexual Politics, Slice of Life, Slow Build, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-09
Updated: 2013-11-20
Packaged: 2017-12-28 22:25:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/997639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velocity_Owl87/pseuds/Velocity_Owl87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Kaiju attacks and the destruction from the Kaiju Blue have effectively decimated the populations of many countries and prompted a re-population scheme where Alphas and Omegas are placed on a register for mating and face stiff penalties if they fail to do so by a specific age. </p><p>Stacker Pentecost needs another pilot for the Alaskan Shatterdome and plans for Herc Hansen to move now that the Australian Shatterdome has been shut down and Chuck has been retired. It should have worked, but Chuck isn't eligible to leave unless he is mated. </p><p>Raleigh and Yancy have been benched due to Raleigh's repeated failures at having an acceptable mate before he hits 25. </p><p>So logically, it makes sense that Raleigh and Chuck should be mated to provide a solution and make everyone happy all around. </p><p>Too bad no one gave Chuck or Raleigh the memo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. This Could Be A Solution

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea that myself and my friend tossed around a whole lot after tossing emails back and forth on Chuck being a cranky mail order bride to Raleigh, who doesn't _quite_ know exactly what he's getting into, but with a twist. The twist was that due to low birth rates and population drops, the government is in charge of pairing Alphas and Omegas up to increase the birth rate along with bonuses to do so. So yeah, this happened. 
> 
> It plays a bit with the timeline and Raleigh and Chuck are a bit closer in age. Also, the Alaskan shatterdome is still operational and Yancy is still a pilot and they haven't crossed paths with Knifehead as of yet. So yeah, big AU loops here and there.
> 
> Proofed and edited, but if there are mistakes, my apologies. 
> 
> Title from Bastille's "Pompeii"

“You’re fucking kidding me, Juneau? Are you joking?” Herc’s accent thickened as he quickly skimmed the paperwork that Stacker Pentecost had just pushed across the smoothly polished desk for him.

 

“It’s one of the last Shatterdomes still in service. Why would I ask you to go anywhere else?”

 

Stacker asked, his voice low and reasonable as he sat back and waited for Herc to get all his objections out of his system. He didn’t blame his colleague for being so recalcitrant to even consider leaving Australia. Even though they had left him out to dry, he was still reluctant to leave. Stacker couldn’t blame him. Adelaide wasn’t in Stacker’s list of ideal cities, but it offered the Hansens protection and shelter that was in small supply around the Pacific Rim.

 

“I’m not a pilot anymore, Stacker. Striker’s been decommissioned and I’ve not got a co-pilot now that Chuck's out of the Ranger program..”

 

Herc spread his hands on top of the desk before he looked up at Stacker with a piercing gaze, made even more so by his dark blue eyes. It was a challenge, but Stacker hadn’t been in charge of squadrons for nothing. He was used to them. Especially when it came from Alphas. He wouldn’t have made it that far if he hadn’t been able to establish himself as a top Alpha.

 

“There are other pilots in Juneau. You have drifted with Scott and Chuck and that proves you can drift with another match. We need the best if we’re going to win this war of attrition. You’re one of the best to come out of Australia. Don’t tell me you’d be content to spend your days sitting on a porch in Adelaide wondering when the rest of Australia will get destroyed?”

 

Herc’s left eye twitched. It was a faint movement, but enough for Stacker to see that he had scored a point.

 

“I can’t leave Chuck behind.” He stated flatly, but not flatly enough for the regret and fiercely protective Alpha parent instincts to flare out at the edges of that statement.

 

“No one is asking you to. Take him with you. There’s more to Juneau than the Shatterdome. Or if he wants to stay in the Shatterdome, he knows enough about Jaegers to work in tech..”

 

Herc grimaced and sat back, making Stacker wonder what other bureaucratic bullshit he’d have to wade through to get the Hansens out.

 

“I can’t."

 

Stacker raised an eyebrow at the vehemence of Herc's statement.

 

"Chuck's an Omega." Herc stated flatly. "He's still on the lists for mating. There's no way that the government will let him out of the country without either a mate or the fine. and I honestly don’t think that you can afford it, no matter how badly you want me to pilot a Jaeger."

 

Stacker silently swore at the Australian government and at Herc for being damned right. Even if they could raise the money, it would still be mired in reams of red tape. For an institution that had been quick to discard one of its saviours as soon as he proved a liability, they were sure making his life a merry hell. It was almost as if they didn’t want the damned war to be finally finished in the end.

 

"But didn’t they give him the blue slip? Isn't that why I had to bail you out before you were decommissioned?"

 

Herc's neck flushed a dull pink that went and suffused his entire face before he actually answered.

 

It hadn’t been his proudest moment, punching that officer out once Chuck’s papers had come back, all blue edged and denoting his demoted status from the red-edged ones that Omega information usually were on. But he hadn’t regretted it. Especially after what they had suggested as Chuck’s options. He hadn’t ever told Stacker what had happened, figuring Stacker himself would know. It wasn’t as if anything was secret in the PPDC anyways.

 

"They did, but they're still keeping him on the lists as a spare." Herc swallowed hard and the flush deepened as he continued, "or unless Scott mates him first and there's absofuckinglutely no way in hell I'd let that happen"

 

Stacker nodded, agreeing completely with Herc's reaction. Scott had proven to be the only Hansen that  Stacker didn't trust as far as he could throw him. Chuck was a handful, but Herc's stolid nature rang true within him. He also suspected that some of Angela’s own sweet nature helped balance Chuck out as well and that was why the kid wasn’t a loss. Even if he occasionally was a little shit. Scott, though had definitely missed the Hansen stolidity by a far mile. He couldn't blame Herc's for defying the government's ridiculous mandates if it meant keeping Chuck away from Scott.

 

Besides, even if it was genetically possible, the idea of blood Alpha and Omega matings were still the last resort. In the Americas and the UK, they weren’t even an option. So that was yet another positive to getting the Hansens out and fast.

 

"Is there anything about a non-resident Alpha claiming him?" Stacker threw out, making the flush go out Herc's face as he searched his memory.

 

"As far as I can remember, not really. But how would you even get an Alpha willing to travel to Adelaide and mate with a C-Class?" Herc scowled at the classification they had slapped on his son after he had been wounded in combat and pensioned out. Chuck wasn't sterile or useless. Nor was he severely handicapped either. But the Australian government had decided this was the case and consigned him to the very sterility that they were trying to stamp out.

 

Stacker smiled briefly at this before reaching over for a folder and pushing it towards Herc, who eyed it suspiciously before cautiously taking it and flipping it open to read.

 

Herc’s eyes widened at the information.

 

“You’d better not be fucking with me, Stacker.”

 

Stacker shook his head, his eyes going a bit cool at the profanity.

 

“When have I ever. Now do we have a deal?”

 

~*~*~*~*~*

 

Yancy was reading on the top bunk when the door to their quarters slammed shut, making him stifle a groan and let his magazine fall on his face. He tried to remind himself that he really loved his little brother, but living with him for the last month had become a painful chore. Not only was he putting him on edge, but the scent of an irate Alpha was making him stressed out and wreaking havoc on his own Omega tendencies.

 

He was trying to ride it out, confident that they wouldn’t be benched for long. But as the weeks dragged on, Yancy was questioning his choice and wondering when it would be a good time to ask for separate quarters. If it kept up, he was sure that he would go into heat and be useless when it counted. He was sure that Raleigh would be less than pleased if that were to happen. He may have been the elder, but Raleigh was the Alpha and Yancy’s biology usually overrode any advantage he may have had with birth order.

 

“Yancy!” Raleigh bellowed, making Yancy discard his magazine and turn to look at his brother. Although he was calmer than he had been in weeks, there was a tightness to Raleigh’s mouth that Yancy knew meant displeasure. But it was mild compared to the towering rage that had followed their benching and Yancy calmed down a fraction. Whatever it was couldn’t be that bad. So he steeled himself and waited.

 

“I just got word from above. We’re not benched anymore.”

 

Yancy wanted to breathed a sigh of relief, but didn’t say anything. He had a feeling that there was more to their sudden reinstatement.

 

“But I’ll be gone for a week. Marshall’s orders.”

 

That made Yancy sit up and slide down onto the floor to face his brother. They hadn’t ever been split up before. Even when either one of them were injured, they had been by each other’s sides.

 

“Why? Where are they sending you?” Yancy asked, hating himself for sounding as frantic as he did.

 

He didn’t think that he was that much in need for an Alpha around. He hadn’t even been on the mating rolls, since the program had been implemented after he had presented. The population hadn’t dropped as much when they had entered the Academy and by then, only Raleigh had been unlucky enough to have been put on the rolls. Even if he did want an Alpha and to settle down, there was no way that it would happen. He was more valuable as a Ranger than a broodmare. Maybe later, but with the certainty of death, it wasn’t something that he often thought about.

 

“Australia.” Raleigh’s mouth twisted at that as he gave the letter to Yancy to read before he went over to the small locker that served as his closet, pulled out a duffle bag and started throwing his civilian clothing haphazardly into it in his own version of packing.

 

He paused when he heard Yancy’s startled exclamation.

 

“Can they actually enforce this bullshit rule?”

 

Raleigh moved towards his brother again and reached for the letter, pointing to the bottom of it as he showed it to Yancy, who turned slightly green when he read the words.

 

“They would actually spite themselves if you disagree?”

 

“They’ve got quotas. I’m on the rolls. Unless they figure out a way to stop people from dying from the Kaiju blue or the radiation...yeah. They can. And I’ll be fucked if I’ll let them pull you into this.”

 

“Although I appreciate your protectiveness, I can take care of myself if anything happens.”

 

Yancy’s quiet voice made Raleigh grin as he ruffled his oldest brother’s hair, eliciting a squawk from him before he got a punch in the arm that actually hurt.

 

“I don’t doubt it. But I also wouldn’t trust just any Alpha to be your mate. Not every Alpha got raised right and not all of them respect their mates.”

 

His face darkened and Yancy sighed. He couldn’t blame his brother for being apprehensive. Half of the fights that they had been in were due to some asshole, Alpha or Beta, not taking no for an answer. Although it had lessened after they became Rangers, there were still a few idiots that dared to challenge Yancy.

 

“And what are my orders then?” Yancy asked, not wanting for Raleigh to brood more about the situation than he was no doubt going to. Raleigh shrugged.

 

“Train until you get your orders, I guess.  I shouldn’t be gone long. Maybe a week or two at the most. They promise once I come back, we’re back on call. So enjoy the time. I know I’ve been a pain in the ass, Yance and it hasn’t been easy for you.”

 

Yancy smiled as Raleigh put his hand on his neck and brought their foreheads together, the gesture encompassing all of the apologies and comfort that Raleigh hadn’t been able to give until then. They both hadn’t taken the grounding well, but for Raleigh, it had been even worse, since he was fully aware it was all on him why they had been grounded. Too many ignored deadlines, too many times out in the field. His number was up and there was no way that he could avoid it any longer. And despite their closeness, Raleigh hadn’t always been able to not keep his frustrations in check. Yancy understood and accepted the gesture for what it was.  Despite his little brother being cocky and impulsive, he was still a good man and Yancy could appreciate the small gestures that although infrequent, were always well-meant.

 

“Take your own advice Raleigh. Not all Omegas are like me.” Yancy warned after Raleigh pulled away.

 

Raleigh only smiled before he turned back to his packing.

 

“Will do.”

  
  



	2. You Want To Hear About The Deal I'm Making?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mating is coming closer, Raleigh wishes he knew more and Chuck and Herc have to face the deal that they are making and hope it's not one that they will regret in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get more Hansen interactions as well as Mako and Raleigh in this one. I also couldn't resist in calling the Alaskan Shatterdome the Ice Cube (It was this close to being the Igloo in honour of the Penguins) so the Ice Cube it is. More characters will be coming in and again, it has been edited, but if there are mistakes, my apologies. 
> 
> Title is from "Running Up That Hill" because it fits the mood of the Hansens in the chapter.

“So what do you know about the Hansen kid?” Raleigh asked Mako as he fidgeted around in his seat as they headed toward Adelaide and the Omega he was supposed to bond with in less than a week.

 

Although the Ranger program made everyone know each other by name, The Hansens hadn’t really registered on Raleigh’s radar. He wasn’t even sure if he had come across Chuck at all before he was retired, Striker decommissioned and the Australian Shatterdome closed. He had been younger than him and Yancy and with the Kaiju coming more frequently and keeping them in their respective regions, any chance for a meeting had come and gone.

 

Mako’s mouth pursed as she flipped through red and green edged papers as well as stamped pink, blue and yellow forms before she looked up. Her dark eyes were slightly narrowed and Raleigh hoped he hadn’t irritated her. He knew she hated the part of playing the Mashal’s attache when all she wanted was to be fiddling around with the Jaegers and improving her score to be drift tested and in a Jaeger before the year was out.

 

He had been trying to coach her and give her pointers for that to happen for awhile, but so far, it was still just wishful thinking. But at least they had come to an understanding and could talk to each other about other things that weren’t the PPDC.

 

“We were at the Academy together, but I don’t know much else about him. He was in the field before I was and we were in different divisions before that.”

 

Raleigh grimaced at the memory of being split apart from Yancy while they were at the academy. Although division by gender didn’t exist in the PPDC, it was still reinforced in the academy and it had been a long, painful separation from Yancy that they had vowed wouldn’t ever happen again and so far, hadn’t.

 

“I don’t know much else about him other than what is in his file and that he’d be a good addition to the specs team..” Mako told him, her tone apologetic for not giving him more information. Raleigh suspected that she did know more, but wouldn’t dream of telling someone’s story for them. Even if it would do a hell of a lot to ease his mind over the situation. He just wished he knew more than just what was printed in red-edged papers and what exactly had been the reason for his retirement. He wished he knew more than just facts about Chuck Hansen and actually knew the person he was.

 

“You shouldn’t worry, Raleigh. You’ll both be fine. No one in their right mind would be able to resist a Becket!”

 

Raleigh snorted in laughter at Mako’s chirp and sat back.

 

“Yeah, let’s just go with that. It’s better than the alternative.”

 

It was Mako’s turn to laugh and shake her head.

 

“It’ll be fine. Well, eventually.”

 

Raleigh pretended he didn’t hear the last bit.

 

~*~*~*~*

 

Chuck almost did a double take when he came into the kitchen after being at the Omega Centre for his weekly appointment and saw his father sitting at the kitchen table with an untouched bottle of beer by his elbow and paperwork scattered around. His irritation at having to go to the pointless (But government mandated) program forgotten as he noticed blue, but mostly red and green edged paperwork scattered about.

 

Instead, it was completely replaced by alarm  when he saw a half-filled out mating form by his father’s elbow. He swallowed hard as he went to the fridge and cursed the meds he was on for barring him from drinking. He had a feeling if he could, he would need a stiff one to get through what was coming.

 

“What’s all this?” He asked, trying for casual but only sounding belligerent as he sat across his father and cracked open the bottle of iced tea he had found in the fridge. He drank a quarter of it down as he waited for Herc to provide an answer.

 

“Immigration forms. The Marshal made an offer today to move to the Ice Cube.” Herc replied as he began to re-arrange the paperwork on the table.

 

“Huh. You’re going to go then? Not that there’s any point in staying here if they need pilots. Did you already inform my Division Officer?”

 

Herc visibly flinched at Chuck’s question, again cursing himself for letting his son think that he was still expendable despite the war being over for him.

 

“I did.”

 

Chuck nodded and pointed to the half-filled form.

 

“So who’s my Alpha then? Uncle Scott? Or did they manage to get some almost Alpha suckered into thinking they were getting a real Omega if they-”

 

“Raleigh Becket.”

 

Chuck’s mouth fell open at the interruption and Herc would have been darkly amused at the sight of a floundering Chuck if it hadn’t been for what was on the table. Literally.

 

Chuck’s jaw worked as his mind worked to accept what his father had just laid out in front of him. Raleigh Becket was stepping up to be his Alpha when the government had more or less placed him in legal limbo. Raleigh Becket. The Scrapper Half of Gipsy Danger, as the articles and magazines that he pretended he had no interest in wrote him up as. The Alpha that he was sure all the Omegas (himself included, when he wasn’t too proud to admit it to himself) and female Betas dreamed about was willing to mate with him.

 

“Raleigh Becket is going to be my Alpha.” He reiterated, not sure what else to say to that bombshell.

 

“That’s the idea that the Marshal proposed.The Beckets are benched until Raleigh gets a mate. The Ice Cube needs more pilots if the war is going to end and we’re both sitting here useless while we could actually work for it to happen and the Becket’s go back into action and you get the status you had as a Ranger back. It’s different in the Americas for Omegas. Even mated ones.”

 

Chuck winced at the bluntness of the terms, but knew that he’d rather have them spelled out than sugar-coated. Especially when it was painfully obvious that he was going to be essentially trading one set of restrictions for another. But at least the second option would get him out of the classification the government had basically chained him with and left him with only so much freedom and what his father could do to get him said privileges.

 

“How long until I’m mated?”

 

There was no fight left in Chuch as he spoke and Herc had to look away briefly as he answered the question.

 

It wasn’t what either of them had expected or wanted when they set out to be Rangers, but it was a better choice than what they were facing in Australia. Already, Herc’s nearing retirement was grating on them and just yesterday they had replaced the latest set of crockery that Chuck had vented his rage on after yet another stupid session at the Omega Centre. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t what he would have chosen for himself, but at least his classification was going to be removed and he didn’t have to deal with the idea of being mated to his uncle as a last resort.

 

“He’s already on his way. We’re leaving in a week. So, a couple of days.” Herc replied, feeling slightly guilty at having made the decision for Chuck. Despite it being his legal right, it never made it easier to tell his son what his future was going to be whether Chuck liked it or not. It also wasn’t easy to admit that he was selling his son for both of their freedoms and that was one thing that Herc was going to never forgive himself if Becket turned out worse than Scott had ever been.

 

“Allright. I’m just…” Chuck didn’t finish and stormed off, the sound of his door slamming echoing and re-echoing in the house as Herc closed his eyes and downed the beer in almost a single gulp.

 

He didn’t even flinch when he heard the crashes and was glad that he had put Max out in the shed before Chuck had gotten home.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

Once Chuck was done demolishing the wardrobe door, he went into his bathroom and ran cold water in the sink. Splashing some on his face, he looked up at his reflection, grimacing at the still-pink scar by his hairline, let out a deep sigh before letting his head fall onto the mirror with a loud thunk. He let his forehead rest against the glass for a few moments, savouring the coolness of the flat surface before straightening up and wiping his face dry.

 

The anger was drained from him after slamming his fist through the pressed board of the cheap furniture. Chuck couldn’t stay angry or resentful at the old man. Not when Herc Hansen had risked the wrath of his superiors in protecting Chuck once they had gotten to shore after their last mission. He knew then, Drift aside, how much Herc valued him and Chuck couldn’t repay that with resentment and anger.

 

They were just fucked. Plain and simple and the fact that his old man had stumbled onto Raleigh Becket as a mate for him was an opportune blessing. Already, the last couple of meetings he had had with his Officer were hinting at the possibility of being fast-tracked to his uncle if New Zealand fell through.

 

He hadn’t told his father about those developments, figuring the old man didn’t need the extra pressure of taking care of his pensioned off Omega son. Chuck  was glad that Herc didn’t need to know now that Raleigh Becket was on his way.

 

Raleigh Becket. Huh. Chuck still didn’t know what to think about that. He knew almost nothing about the real Raleigh. He didn’t think that interviews really counted and their Shatterdomes barely worked together. He was mating a stranger pretty much on the word of the Marshal and his father for a bid out of Adelaide and the clutches of the Omega Division.

 

He half-heartedly scoffed a laugh and scrubbed his face with his hands and messing up his hair before leaving the bathroom. It was a gamble and he could only hope that it was a good one. The last one had left him collecting a government cheque and learning how to knit.

 

He just hoped that this one wouldn’t leave him wishing he was back in Australia a ward of the division or worse, playing house with an uncle he knew damned well to be extremely wary of.

 

He shook his head and went to his armchair and pulled out the battered PPDC backpack that had his needles and yarn and set to work for a hat for the old man. It was something that he at least had some control over, at least.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

“Nervous?”

 

Herc asked Chuck as they waited for the Marshal and Raleigh Becket to come into the office. Their paperwork still needed to be signed and stamped off, giving the Hansens a few more precious minutes alone with each other before Herc stepped down as his son’s Alpha.

 

Chuck only glared at his father, who grinned tightly in return.

 

“It’s fine to be. I was, before mating your mother. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Claiming is never easy.”

 

Herc continued, straightening his son’s jacket lapels while Chuck growled softly. Chuck wasn’t thrilled that they both had to get their army dress out of storage for the mating ceremony. Although he knew that his father got to wear it regularly, for him it was a reminder of what he’d never be ever again. Even with the ribbon pinned to his lapel, it gave him no real honour to wear the uniform of an institution he’d never be an active part of again.

 

“I just want it over and done with. I’m not nervous or scared, all right?”

 

Chuck snapped out as he stepped back and pushed his father’s hands away, yet didn’t let go of them right away.

 

Herc only looked at him and Chuck had the grace to flush under his father’s stare. They both knew that he was lying, but Herc was willing to let it slide without comment.

 

“Fine. But you know if anything happens, you just call, all right?”

 

He slid his hands out of Chuck’s hands and ran them through Chuck’s shaggy hair, bringing their foreheads close.

 

“I know. I will.”

 

Herc smiles before he let him go and stood beside him in time for the Marshall and for Raleigh to enter the office alongside the Justice of the Peace, the finished paperwork in his hands as he moved to his desk.

 

The Marshall and Herc nodded to each other as Raleigh moved to stand next to Chuck, who would have been the picture of nonchalance if it hadn’t been for the nervous twitch of his right hand against his thigh.

 

Raleigh noticed this and felt a small rush of fondness at that tell-tale sign of humanity in the younger Omega. It made it obvious that it wasn’t just him that was worried and wracked with nerves over the mating. it also made him want to be less reserved than he had planned on being with the Hansen Omega.

 

“Hey. Ready?”

 

He whispered as he took Chuck’s left hand and intertwined their fingers together as was the custom for matings. He felt a small snap of recognition at touching Chuck that made him blink as he held Chuck’s hand. He hadn’t ever felt that, but he didn’t have time to think about it since Chuck was replying and the mating was about to begin.

 

“Sure.”

 

Chuck replied as nonchalantly as he could as he let Raleigh clasp their hands together. He didn’t hear any of the words being spoken, his heartbeat was too loud in his ears and his hand felt like it was burning wherever he was touching Raleigh’s skin. He didn’t think that he would feel so damned safe and secure with another Alpha that wasn’t his father, but Raleigh, despite his reservations against the matings was doing just that to Chuck.

 

So lost was he in the sensations that he nearly missed when Raleigh pulled him into his arms in a tight embrace. Chuck gasped and put his hands on Raleigh’s chest to push him away before Raleigh spoke to him.

 

“Please. Relax. It will be over soon.” Raleigh whispered, his breath in Chuck’s ear making him shudder as he understood what was coming next. The claim had to be laid. The Marshall, his father and the Justice of the Peace the witnesses to it. His heart sped up and the blood roared in his ears when he felt Raleigh mouth the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

 

He wondered when his shirt and jacket had been pushed away and why he hadn’t noticed it when Raleigh’s sharp canines pierced the scarred skin and he felt his knees buckle underneath him.

 

“I got you. It’s okay. I got you.” Raleigh’s voice was the last thing he heard before he was overwhelmed by the scent of the cold ocean and the sounds of his father shouting and then it was all black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few end notes, because they might have been spoilery in the beginning:
> 
> The Divisions-All three genders have their own separate offices for dealing with things from the government in this version of Australia. Chuck has to go to an office that's similar to an Unemployment Centre/Matchmaking Centre in order to collect his pensions. I based his emotions on mine whenever I was collecting EI and had to attend sessions that were pretty demeaning and embarrassing for all involved. 
> 
> Chuck was retired from active duty and collects two kinds of pensions-Military and an Unmated Omega pension since he has been re-classified and a ward of the state, more or less. He also is a decorated soldier, but I'm leaving it ambiguous as to what he received. 
> 
> Chuck and Herc-They do have their differences, but they have more time to actually sit down and talk because the Drift isn't an option anymore. It's not long drawn out conversations, but they both got their warnings and heeded them, hence the change.
> 
> Mating-It is technically a marriage and has to have witnesses from both the Alpha and the Omega side and it does involve the Alpha staking a claim onto the Omega. It will get clearer in the future. Promise. 
> 
> Scott Hansen-He's pretty much an asshole and his personality is based on what I've gleaned from the wiki and books. He's not preyed on Chuck or anything like that, but barring the squick factor of uncle/nephew incest aside, there's no way that Herc would let him be anywhere near Chuck. 
> 
> Thank you all that have read and responded. I'm just chuffed you all like it so much. Cheers and many thanks and hope you enjoy this also.


	3. The Secrets We Sold Were Never Known

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How did everything go so bloody wrong? How does Raleigh even go about fixing himself and Chuck? And when he does, how do Herc and Yancy cope with the overflow?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is something that I had been thinking about after I wrote the last chapter and I had to sit down and write this to answer questions and somehow, this chapter happened. Even though it may leave more questions than answers right now, they will be answered. Honest. I just had to get this out to explain the mating process and what comes after. 
> 
> In my A/B/O, matings have a strong sense of imprinting that is enfored by touch and having a psychic impression of the mates be in their mate. So if they end up breaking the bond, they do lose some of themselves along with that part of their mate. A bond can be half completed with no actual damage, but some with stronger connections or compatibility require bonding right away. 
> 
> They can also trigger latent bondings with compatible omegas and alphas as well and when they are happy, they purr. They're more feline, rather than doglike in this verse.
> 
> As always, it has been proofed and edited, if there are mistakes, I apologize. Title from 30 Seconds to Mars.

It was both the most amazing and most horrific thing that he had ever experienced, having Raleigh claim him and get under his skin like that. They were so close to simply being, intertwining with each other as if they were on the verge of a neural handshake when it was snapped apart. It made him scream, his voice hoarse and broken and accompanied by Raleigh’s. They were pushed back into their minds and it left him clutching his Alpha, while Raleigh shouted something incomprehensible to Herc, who was being held back by the Marshall. Herc’s face was a mask of rage and that was all he really remembered before he blacked out for real and woke up again in Raleigh’s arms with his nose and mouth full of blood and his father looking at him as if something truly horrendous had happened.

 

He shut his eyes and forced himself to not think about the rest. Instead, he forced himself to not think about it or the Alpha that was sitting right next to him and staring at him with eyes made brighter with remorse and bewilderment.

 

Chuck looked out the window, huddled in the blanket that Mako had given him and refused to acknowledge all the other Alphas in the plane. It wasn’t an easy task when Raleigh was sitting right next to him, hovering out of necessity and his old man was two rows away and being preoccupied by the Marshall and Mako to keep him from tearing into Raleigh. Chuck’s head felt like it was thick with cotton wool and his mouth tasted of metal and blood. And he was furious and scared and snarled at anyone that came too close in case they figured out exactly how affected he had been.

 

“Chuck. Hey. Seriously. Are you really okay?” Raleigh whispered for what felt like the thousandth time, making him roll his eyes before slumping even further into the seat.

 

“Leave me alone, Becket.” Was all he could muster up to reply, despite feeling his Alpha’s distress at having his Omega and mate be in distress and refuse any aid that Raleigh could give him. In return, Chuck was miserable, yet he couldn’t open his mouth and admit that he was scared and felt like there were ghosts in his head and his insides felt like they had been scooped out and badly rearranged with a rusty spoon.

 

He didn’t push Raleigh’s hand away. He found that the nasty headache and the nausea disappeared whenever Raleigh touched him. It also grounded him and kept him awake and outside of his head.

 

It also kept him from wanting to know the memories he had lost right after he had been claimed.

 

All he could recall when he came to was his father's distress and the blood all over the damned place and how his eyes hurt just like they always had done after he had a fit. Except that he was sure he hadn’t. And he was also sure that there was someone. Or something else in his mind now. He wasn’t exactly sure if it wasn’t just the after-effects of the brain injury, or if it really was there.

 

But he knew, when he looked at Raleigh, that it was connected to him and that made him start to struggle weakly to get out of Raleigh’s grip. Once he was away from him, the headache started. The nausea came when his father got near him and all that Chuck could think of was that Herc smelled wrong. Completely wrong and threatening at the same time.

 

He had fallen to his knees then and Raleigh had dragged him to the bathroom without a word, rubbing his back as Chuck dry-heaved into the toilet and forcing water and ginger ale down his throat until it was time to get on the plane.

 

“Chuck, you’re my mate. You have to tell me if-”

 

“I don’t have to tell you shit, mate. Just...just leave me the fuck alone.” Chuck tried to snap out, but it came out tired and petulant sounding. As if he was a child in need of a nap and refusing to take one.

 

“I can’t. Even though right now I’d love to, I can’t. We’re tied in this together. Whether you like it or not, I’m responsible for you and we can do it the easy way, or the hard way. Are you okay?”

 

Chuck’s eyes narrowed to thin green slits in his face and he clamped his lips shut. Raleigh sighed and moved away from him, not letting any of their bare skin come in contact with each other and waited.

 

It was petty and it was childish and he had only done it once before in his life with Yancy. But he had to make Chuck see that even though it wasn’t their choice, he wasn’t about to let him suffer simply because he was too stubborn to give Raleigh an answer. He was also Chuck’s Alpha and the animalistic side of him was getting frantic.

 

He didn’t have to wait long for Chuck’s eyes to widen and for him to reach out frantically for Raleigh’s hand and clutch it as if it was the only thing keeping him adrift. He held on as his breathing slowed and his face regained colour again. He didn’t speak and Raleigh was steeling himself to ask again when he heard the answer.

 

“I don’t know, all right. Only that it hurts less when you’re near.”

 

Raleigh swallowed hard and moved closer, unease trailing through his veins at the quietly murmured words.

 

He had an idea what it could have been, to have created such a raw and incomplete bond between them. He had the ghost of a sensation imprinted in his mind and in his heart. A sensation that almost felt like Yancy when they were in the drift, yet he knew that it couldn’t be his brother. He could feel their fractured mating bond, like a bone deep bruise that threatened to engulf his entire being. He was so close, but could get only a small relief having his mate near and safe. Raleigh had only the ghost of it now that Chuck had grudgingly opened up.

 

But it was only a temporary solution. Chuck was a mess and they were running out of time. He’d be on call once they were back in the Ice Cube, mate or no mate. They would have to consummate it quickly and hope that things would just fall into place.

 

Although it was a good idea, it made Raleigh uneasy as the full weight of what he was to do hit him all at once. Although Chuck was his Omega and he did feel the stirrings of more than just concern for him, the idea that he would be breeding him before the clock ran out and he was called out to a mission unnerved Raleigh. He hadn’t ever been someone to just bed someone to ease an itch. He didn’t think he’d be able to put aside any conflicting emotions when the time came.

 

He sighed and shifted in his seat, careful to not lose the contact with Chuck. He was starting to feel the back of his neck prickling and his eyes water just slightly like they did when...Raleigh sat up straight and looked at Chuck, who was staring at him with a confused expression on his face.

 

This was not the price he had intended to pay to get back in the field. Not at all.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

Yancy bit his lip as he glanced at the clock on the far wall and swore quietly when he noticed the time. He had been told to be at the deck by eight thirty and here it was, eight twenty-three and he wasn’t even properly dressed. Grabbing his boiler suit, he got himself dressed in record time and went out to the dock just in time to see the chopper land.

 

Relieved, he rushed ahead to meet his brother and his Omega. He stood there impatiently as he watched the Marshall and Mako emerge first, giving her a slight grin while he nodded to the Marshall. He was still keeping an eye out for Raleigh when his attention was caught by an older, but still powerful and intimidating ginger Alpha in dress blues exiting the chopper.

 

Yancy’s heart stopped and his hands went clammy, his instincts reacting heavily towards the Alpha’s presence. He swallowed hard and he was sure he was blushing furiously when their eyes met. They were close enough to each other for Yancy to notice the deep, rich blue of his eyes and how the pupils shrank down to pinpricks as he noticed Yancy.

 

There was no one else that existed for them in that moment as the ginger Alpha strode purposefully towards him, every line of him screaming out predatory seduction. Yancy, despite all his practice dodging Alphas, couldn’t move. He was mesmerized by the Alpha and could only watch as the Alpha grabbed him and roughly scented him.

 

Yancy felt his knees go weak as the Alpha buried his nose into the soft part of his throat, making him whimper as the Alpha then licked him. His breathing got erratic as the Alpha tasted him again, and Yancy wrapped his arms around the Alpha, clinging onto dear life as he too, tasted that freckled skin before they were forcefully separated by the Marshall and Tendo.

 

“Tendo, take Becket to his quarters. Hansen, with me.” The Marshall barked out the orders, and even though Yancy heard the orders he couldn’t force himself to follow them. He wanted to taste and suck and lick and…

 

“Jesus, Yancy. You close to your heat? I’ve never seen you get that worked up over an Alpha before! Christ, kid.”

 

Tendo muttered as he pulled Yancy away, who was doing his best to get back to his Alpha, his mind only filled with the need to submit and lie underneath the Hansen Alpha. His body itched and prickled and he was whimpering and clawing at Tendo, despite his best efforts to keep himself in check. He should have been embarrassed, but he was beyond that, lost to the heat haze that was clouding all of his rational thinking.

 

“Tendo. Let go. I have to go to him. Tendo-”

 

“Not a chance in hell, kid. Until I know it’s you talking and not the hormones, you’re staying put, all right? I’ll be back in a bit to check on you.”

 

Tendo broke in, his tone not wavering from his usual easygoing flow. But inside, he was worried. The fact that both Yancy and Raleigh were reacting to the Hansens so strongly was enough to worry not just him, but the Marshall. Even with drift compatibility, he hadn’t ever seen mated pairs nearly go mad to breed. If they were going to have Herc and the Beckets go on missions, they were going to need to figure it out fast.

 

He made sure that Yancy was settled and exited the room fast, making sure to set the filter system on and to lock the door from the outside. They already had quarters for Raleigh and Chuck set up and it was just a failsafe. But it still made him flinch to have to lock Yancy up as per heat protocols.

 

When he realized what he was doing, he froze. He hadn’t ever had to do it for Yancy. In fact, in the last two years that the Beckets had been Rangers, Raleigh had only needed to lock his brother down twice on scheduled heats.

 

“Motherfucker.” Tendo swore, running to the Marshall’s office.

 

~*~*~*~*

“Just...Just give me a minute. Sorry to have kept you waiting for this.”

 

Raleigh apologized the moment he stepped into the room and found Chuck curled up into a ball of abject misery and shivering, his clothes having had been ripped off and flung everywhere to ease the prickliness that the approaching heat was bringing him. Raleigh had touched him, given him the reassurances and easing the pain that was wracking him long enough to come back to his sense and realize that Raleigh was back and that he needed him.

 

“We...We’re going to do it, yeah? No more bullshitting. That’s why we’re here.”

 

Raleigh had smiled a tight smile before he nodded. “Yeah. For sure.”

 

That was all he had said as he had rubbed his thumb along Chuck’s jaw before he stood up and started pulling off his clothes, his own blood rushing through his veins as he fought to not rush what he was sure was Chuck’s first mating. Despite the overlay of Herc’s cloying sandalwood scent, he could smell the sweet, almost milky scent of a virgin Omega mixed in with the scent of bruised mint of Chuck’s own scent. That was enough to make him slow down despite the ache building up in his balls at the anticipation of a complete mating.

 

Chuck rubbed his temples hard as he sat up on the bed, his stained suit jacket thrown carelessly over the chest at the foot of the bed while the rest of his destroyed clothes were scattered everywhere while he watched Raleigh take off his Ranger jacket and hang it on a hook. Despite being out of sorts and wanting to claw his own skin off to ease the prickling and the discomfort of his clothes rubbing against his skin, he couldn’t take his eyes off of his Alpha.

 

The sharp, jagged pain in his head and in his chest and the ghost fingers in his brain were only stilled when Raleigh came close, when his fingertips were sliding down his skin and when his eyes are piercing his. Chuck licked his lips when he watched Raleigh go through the motions of getting undressed and wondered if this had been covered in the stupid courses that he was forced to sit through once he had been declassed. He hadn’t even been close to starting his heat. By his calculations, he had a month and a half to go for his scheduled heat.

 

So why was it coming now, flaring up out of control? He couldn’t have been so affected by Raleigh. He had been around thousands of Alphas and none had made him feel so hollowed and cracked and fractured and...wanted. He could see it, in the way that his Alpha watched him as he took off the last article of his clothing and moved towards the bed, letting Chuck get a clear view of what he was about.

 

Chuck’s mouth went dry at the sight of all those smooth planes and chiseled muscles. He had known, in an theoretical way that Raleigh would be built.His fingers fairly itched to trace the planes of his muscles and his body was thrumming in anticipation at being pressed down on the bed and taken. Raleigh was a vision. As an Alpha and a Ranger, it would make sense he would be built.

 

Chuck knew he had gotten caught looking when Raleigh smirked as he came closer, putting his hands on Chuck’s shoulders and making him purr, something that he tried to hide with a cough.

 

“Showoff.” Chuck muttered, his words belied by the fact that he didn’t stop Raleigh from pushing him down the bed and kissing him with the unrestrained fervour of an Alpha in a rut. He opened his mouth wider, letting Raleigh taste him, all rational thought turned away when his legs wrapped around Raleigh’s lower back in order to make the mating easier.

 

If he had been thinking clearly, he would have been embarrassed and pushed Raleigh away while ignoring the ache and wetness that was sluicing down his passage. But as it was, his rational mind was gone. All he could think about was sinking and drowning into all that was his Alpha: his skin, his scent, everything about him was intoxicating to him. He felt like a junkie getting his fix as Raleigh kissed him hard enough to make him breathless, biting him lightly before he trailed wet, sloppy kisses down to the claiming bite and bit down again.

 

Chuck yowled, his body arching up and nearly off the bed as euphoria flooded his veins and made him almost white out. Only Raleigh’s touch kept him from doing so, his artist’s hands skimming down Chuck’s scarred side and hip to go between them. Raleigh touched Chuck’s cock, eliciting a thick, throaty purr as he squeezed it and slid his thumb across the head. Chuck’s hips jerked up and Raleigh chuckled softly as he gave Chuck’s cock a few more strokes before his hand slid down to cup his sac and then on to find the hidden passage that was wet and ready.

 

“Jesus.” Raleigh exclaimed as his fingers slid in easily. Chuck only moaned as Raleigh scissored and curled his fingers inside to reach that bundle of nerves that would make Chuck scream, which he did the moment that Raleigh’s fingers rubbed against it. His legs splayed wide, giving Raleigh more access, which he used well enough to slide another finger in and reduce Chuck to a panting, sweaty mess.

 

Although he wanted to keep moving slowly, he knew that there was no way he could hold back any longer and not take Chuck. Already, the Omega was a wreck. He could see it as he pulled his fingers out and sat back on his heels to look at him. Chuck’s mouth was red and his eyes were glassy and unfocused. His chest was flushed and his cock was red and glistening with the clear come that Omegas produced in heat. His legs were open and he was leaking, his thighs shiny with it and soaking the bedsheets underneath.

 

“Christ, Chuck.” Raleigh groaned as he positioned himself between Chuck’s legs, bringing them up towards his chest as he guided his cock to Chuck’s entrance and moved. He nearly bit through his lip when he breached Chuck, moving inch by agonizing inch to let Chuck get used to the sensation of being filled.

 

Chuck panted through the pain, his nails lengthening as he clutched at the sheets and tore them as he bore down on the pain of Raleigh entering him. He closed his eyes once Raleigh bottomed out and lay still, not moving as his body contracted around Raleigh, making him give out a loud moan of pleasure laced with pain before he started to move.

 

It was clumsy, and uneven at first until his instincts took over and his hips were moving in a fast, almost brutal rhythm as he simply followed his body’s directives to mate. It didn’t bother Chuck, if his yowls and the nails digging deep furrows into his back were any indication. Encouraged, he moved faster, thrust harder, slamming their hips together until Chuck was nearly sliding off the bed, his throat exposed for Raleigh to kiss and suck, leaving the biggest bruises that he could to go along with the purple and slightly bloody claiming bite.

 

The sight of the blood and bruises brought forth the closeness of an orgasm he had been trying to keep at bay. Although he didn’t normally get off on blood and bruises, the Alpha in him did, enjoying the sight of his Omega wearing the marks of his ownership. He was close, but he wasn’t so far gone that he wouldn’t ensure Chuck’s release first. He shifted his hips slid his hand between their bodies and grasped Chuck’s cock, stroking it hard and fast so that Chuck would come before him and fall apart on his cock.

 

Something that he didn’t have to wait for too long to see, since he only had to stroke him three times and Chuck was shouting hoarsely, shooting come all over his belly and Raleigh’s chest. The sight of him covered in his own release just shot Raleigh’s brain at how hot it was and his own release followed after a few moments.

 

He thrust hard one more time as deeply as he possibly could, his fingers digging bloody crescents into Chuck’s shoulders and he came in an explosion that took his breath away. He collapsed on top of Chuck and buried his nose into Chuck’s neck, sighing contentedly when the scent of the cold ocean and the sweet mint was all he could smell, rather than sandalwood as he had before. Chuck really was his. There was no hiding it now that their scents had blended.

 

Chuck squirmed under him and Raleigh moved so that they were lying on their sides facing each other rather than him on top. He met his Omega's eyes and he was relieved to see that Chuck didn’t look as awful as he had beforehand. He was exhausted and pale, but looked much better than before. He didn’t reach out and embrace Raleigh, but he didn’t put any distance between them as he shut his eyes and went to sleep.

  
Although he was worried, Raleigh couldn’t stay up any longer. He too, closed his eyes and grabbed at sleep. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to be doing much of that in a long while.


	4. It's the Moment to Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stacker again has to pull out the stops and make a decision for the good of the Ice Cube and for Yancy's health and Herc's sanity. But it is only an interlude and as always, the Beckets have to go to war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did use the scents as tell-tales here for certain things, since they are kind of feline they would pick up so many things from their mates that way. Omegas also do have a radar for their Alpha's moods and it does affect them. All of the mated pairs are slightly emphatic to a point. 
> 
> I did mention that the timeline will be played with here and there. 
> 
> Title from "This is War" By 30 Seconds to Mars. Proofed and edited, but if there are mistakes, apologies.

“Marshall, Vladivostok’s sighting an all clear. Hong Kong and Vancouver haven’t come through as of yet. They’re keeping us posted, but so far, it’s quiet.”

Stacker nodded at the news before leaving the Loccent room, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief at the news. He was down three pilots and there was no way that Mako was ready as of yet to be on call. He knew that time was running out, but he didn’t mean to rush it if he didn’t have to.

He rubbed his forehead and pushed that old issue away. He had to visit Yancy and Herc to make sure that the next step was the right one that he was taking. Although he hadn’t batted an eyelid at suggesting the mating of Chuck and Raleigh, this was different. Yancy, as far as he knew, had no desire to be bred and Herc hadn’t even looked at another Omega or Beta after Angela had died in the Sydney attack. But there was also biology and he had seen enough from the reports that had been commissioned since the early days of the Jaeger Program.

Weighing the options in his mind, he went down the corridor and two flights of stairs to Yancy’s quarters, careful to avoid Raleigh and Chuck’s room. Their mating had gotten vicious in the last couple of hours and it was all he could do to keep an impassive face despite the muffled noises coming through to the hallway.

He didn’t knock on the door and only unlocked the window to look inside, knowing full well that if he entered, he’d probably mount Yancy. Even with the filters, the spicy and milky scent of Yancy got through and Stacker had to breathe through his mouth when he looked in. 

Yancy was curled up on his side, buried deep under covers, his arms wrapped around his middle and shaking as badly as if he was freezing. His face was visible and his lips were tinged with blue, while the rest of his face was flushed an unhealthy pink.

Stacker closed the window and called to Tendo to make sure that the paperwork was on its way. Although tricky, he was positive that Yancy and Raleigh’s previous consent forms from the past two months would be viable. But even with Yancy’s state, no court would argue against what he was going to give his approval on.

He didn’t even flinch as he went back upstairs to where Herc was being kept. It had to be done.

~*~*~*~*~*

“How are you holding up?” Stacker asked Herc as he stepped into the quarters they had assigned the Australian. He hadn’t seen his comrade in several hours, ever since Herc had balefully submitted to testing and then sequestered the minute he had scented Yancy in the vicinity and viciously clawed at three of the guards in his efforts to get to his Omega. Yancy himself had done his share of damage and he was also locked down and waiting.

“I’m not.” Herc growled out from the bed he was sitting perched on, his nails long and digging into the mattress, which had stuffing poking out of it. His face was flushed and his pupils were blown. He had stripped down to his vest and a pair of fighting trousers and his skin was still glistening with a fine sheen of perspiration while his vest had been soaked through and the entire room smelled like sandalwood and sour mint.

He shook his head and took a deep breath, closing his eyes to grab at the calm that he was just barely clawing at. All he could think about was claiming the Omega he had scented, to bury himself into his body and wrap himself in that intoxicating scent until it was a perfect blend of both of them and that Omega was pregnant with his seed. He wanted it so badly and it was so close...Yet he forced himself to remain in his quarters and wait to get the go-ahead.

He wasn’t a rapist before and he wasn’t going to turn into one now. Despite the fraying threads of his sanity getting thinner and thinner, he wouldn’t hunt the Omega down. He got another flash of stormy blue eyes, dark like the sea before the tempest and his claws got longer, ripping the mattress even further.

Stacker watched this without a flicker of emotion and nodded sharply.

“We’re running tests, Herc. Once the results come back-”

Herc snarled at that. “Do what you have to do, but do it fast before I lose my fucking mind.”

Stacker nodded curtly and exited the room, making sure to lock it and went straight to the lab and to make sure Tendo had all the paperwork ready. He had no doubt that Herc would do exactly as he had stated if he didn’t mate with Yancy Becket sooner, rather than later.

~*~*~*~*~

“Are you positive?” Stacker asked Tendo once the testing on Yancy and Herc had been finished.

“Positive. Medical and Geizler just double-checked their files. Yancy was long overdue as was Herc, it looked like.”

Stacker frowned, but didn’t look up from the files he was leafing through.

“But they were on suppressants. How did they get triggered?”

Tendo pressed his lips together as he reached over and pointed at the blood test results.

“I knew we should have poured more money into the sciences division.” Stacker muttered the minute he saw the results.

“So what’s the plan?” Tendo asked as he reached over for the paperwork he had Yancy sign just in case.

Stacker closed the file folders and looked at Tendo.

“Get Herc to Yancy and fast and hope that this week is a silent one. If not, I’ll give word for Vladivostok, Hong Kong and Vancouver to cover for us.”

~*~*~*~*~

Yancy was sure he was dying. His heart was thudding sluggishly in his chest and his blood felt like it was crawling through his veins. He knew he was burning up, but he was so cold. He was sure that he was hallucinating when he heard the door open and the almost cloying scent of sandalwood fill his room. He was sure that he was dreaming when he heard growling of an Alpha and his blankets being ripped away from his body.

He mewled a protest that was weak even to his ears that stopped when he felt a warm hand pressed against his forehead.

It was instantaneous how everything went back to normal. His heart sped up, his blood rushed through his veins and his body was finally warm again. It wasn’t a hallucination. It was real. His Alpha was here. 

He blinked his heavy eyelids, forcing himself to do so even though they were gummed together and the effort made him so tired. When he did finally open his eyes, it felt like all the breath in his body had been knocked out. It was the ginger Alpha that was now lying beside him, his hand skimming Yancy’s face, his shoulder, his chest and hip and then moving between his now soaking thighs. 

Yancy threw his head back at the touch, his lip trapped between his teeth as his legs parted by their own volition. He was hot, his body covered in a thin layer of sweat as he moved to be under the Alpha as he had been dreaming of ever since they had laid eyes on each other. He looked deep into the Alpha’s eyes and bared his throat in submission.

The Alpha’s nostrils flared before he lowered his head and sank his teeth in the soft skin of Yancy’s neck, not letting go until he tasted blood and the warm, pulsing presence of his Omega in his mind. Yancy gasped under him, the sound quickly turning into a purr and the bed getting even wetter when the claim settled between them.

The Alpha  wasted no time after that had happened. In what felt like seconds, Yancy found himself on his hands and knees, his head on the pillow as he waited for his Alpha to claim him completely. He felt the moist warmth of a mouth pressing down at the top of his mouth as fingers carefully touched between his ass cheeks and slid inside.

“So wet. God. You’re so ready.” The voice was low and dripped with authority that made Yancy shiver and press his head down further into the pillow, his eyes clenching shut as he was breached ever so slowly. First by fingers that touched his prostate and made him see sparks imprinted on his eyelids and then by a cock thicker than any of the toys he had tried before. He bore down on the pain of it, his eyes tearing up as his Alpha pressed in, slowly, ever so slowly until they were flush back to chest. 

More kisses on his neck, a wet stripe licked down his back and a reassuring murmur before his Alpha moved and sent those sparks in his vision again. Sparks that turned into fireworks and blotted every bit of blackness and his being until he was enveloped in the feel of firm flesh and the scent of sandalwood and sweet fir.

~*~*~*~*~ 

It was the Klaxons of the Kaiju alarm that tore them from their almost comatose state. Although Raleigh was quite fine in staying wrapped around his mate, the alarm tore right through his dreams and put an end to those ideas damned fast. He jerked awake, shoving the dirty blanket away and stumbling to his feet and completely awake in less than a minute.

He threw a quick glance to the monitor and took in the information at a glance-Knifehead, just off the Aleutian Archipelago. He grabbed his shirt and trousers and turned around to wake-

He stopped short when he saw that he hadn’t been sleeping in his bunk and had been lying in a double bed that was covered in rumpled, stained sheets and blankets. It also contained a very disgruntled looking, barely awake ginger covered in bruises, bloody bites and hickeys. The sight of his mate brought everything back in a rush. He was mated now. Yancy was in a different room. The only similarity was that Chuck looked like he was still asleep and not firing on all cylinders.

“Go back to sleep, Chuck.” Raleigh coaxed him quietly, pushing him back down and throwing the covers over him, but making sure that he wasn’t touching him anymore than he had to. He had discovered the hard way that Chuck bit when he wasn’t quite awake and Raleigh had to admit that it was a good thing that Yancy didn’t have that tendency, or else he’d be missing fingers.

Chuck made some kind of noise of agreement and curled up in the blankets, making Raleigh pause and shake his head in overwhelming fondness tinged with sadness. Chuck really was still a kid that should have had a chance to grow up before being forced to fight. He understood, he really did. But it didn’t make it easier to know that if it hadn’t been for an injury, Chuck would have probably ended up yet another war casualty like they all would unless they figured out exactly how to end the war.

It was this sobering realization that made him give into his next impulse. Even though he could possibly get a bite or a fist in the mouth, he chanced it and pressed a kiss on Chuck’s cheek, not waiting to see the reaction and went to shower. He was sure that no one would appreciate it if he showed up for a drop smelling like sweat, cum, slick and breeding Omega.

That was why they had slept, finally. He could smell it seeping from Chuck’s skin, the scent strong at the back of his neck and at the soft skin of his throat. He wasn’t going to lie to himself, but he was equally scared and pleased at the same time that Chuck was breeding after their first heat together.Despite knowing that it was going to happen, it was still something that he didn’t want to think about right then and there.

He had a Jaeger to pilot and a Kaiju to beat and that was all that he was going to think about then.

~*~*~*~*

Herc sprung awake the moment the alarm sounded off and was already out the bed and grabbing his clothes and heading to the bathroom when he remembered to wake Chuck up. He doubled back and swore when it sank in. He wasn’t in Sydney anymore and it wasn’t Chuck that needed to be woken up, but Yancy Becket. His Omega.

He growled low in his throat when he looked back at Yancy, sleeping curled up on his side with a peaceful expression on his face and his body marked with the evidence of their week long mating all over his milky skin. Seeing some unmarked spots got him turned on again and he had to beat down the part of his hindbrain that wanted nothing more than to throw his clothes down on the floor and wake Yancy up with a slow, languorous fuck while the world went on as before outside their door.

But it was all just a passing fancy and despite his impulse as an Alpha to keep Yancy safe being a strong one; he overrode it through sheer will, just like he had with Chuck and did the right thing as he always had done. Besides, Yancy was a Ranger with as many kills as he had before he was benched. It would be insulting to even think of keeping him back. He hadn’t ever done it for his own son, he wasn’t going to do it for his mate either.

Even if it rubbed him raw and went against everything that his instincts were warning him to do.

“Yancy. Hey, Yancy! Wake up!” Yancy could hear Herc’s voice through the thick fog of sleep and blinked up at him, his confusion evident as to why it was Herc shaking him awake when it was usually Raleigh who had the job.. It took him a few moments, but when he finally got himself to a sitting position and stumbling to the bathroom he finally realized that the noise was the Kaiju alarm and he and Raleigh were due to drop in less than twenty.

“Grab a shower, Yance. It’s too obvious what we’ve been doing.” Herc told him as he pulled out Yancy’s clothes and piled them on the chair, the only furniture in their quarters that wasn’t stained or broken from the mating frenzy that had only broken enough to allow for food and drink breaks and small talk. Otherwise, Herc was sure that they wouldn’t even know each other’s name until now, when the heat had snapped.

Yancy snorted and rubbed at his eyes to clear the blurriness of sleep still clinging to them.

“Like it wasn’t obvious already. You coming?” Yancy asked, while Herc shook his head and moved closer to Yancy, only letting himself caress Yancy’s face and still swollen bottom lip. Yancy purred and moved closer, letting out a low sigh and making Herc’s eyes widen slightly after Yancy forced himself to move away from his Alpha.

“Not cleared yet.” Herc replied in a neutral tone. Or what he thought was neutral, but failed to be, since. Yancy only nodded and stepped into the shower, his movements cautious and wary. Herc sighed and rubbed his face, which was thick with a week-old beard. He had forgotten how much Omegas picked up on their Alpha’s emotions. Even though he had been getting better at it with Chuck, he was still not able to mask his anger well enough.

And now that Yancy was his mate, it was even worse. He was going to have to practice it. He didn’t need a jumpy and wary Omega to be piloting a Jaeger. He was fucked if he was going to cause the death of both of the Becket brothers. Especially not now that they were family.

And especially not now that he caught Yancy’s scent.

He forced himself to remain calm though, watching as Yancy got ready and even after he had wrapped him in an embrace and watched him walk away with Raleigh, who had been waiting for him at the end of the hall.

He caught Raleigh’s eyes and both Alphas locked gazes. They stared at each other before Raleigh gave him a small nod, which Herc returned.

The Beckets were going to war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It always made me wonder why Vancouver wouldn't have a Shatterdome as well as Alaska, so hey, Vancouver represent! I might have some of the book mentioned Jaegers in here to fill out the roster but that's not set in stone. It really depends on the next chapter, which hopefully won't take that long. I work this weekend (Sports Day! Unless the rain kills it) so yeah. Anyways, cheers!


	5. I Will Battle For The Sun, Don't Stop Me. I'm Not Done.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Becket brothers find out several truths about each other before the battle begins, while Herc and Chuck come to a tenous understanding. And Mako gets an unexpected chance.

“So...Herc Hansen.” Raleigh finally broke the awkward silence that had fallen between him and his brother. They didn’t have that much time to the make it to drop and even though Raleigh wanted to grill his brother and shamefully mark him again so that his scent was still on him rather than the sandalwood one of Herc’s, he didn’t even try. Not when he knew that Herc could be doing the same thing to Chuck.

His lip curled at the idea of that happening, to have that old claim overlay his mate and pup, so he suppressed the impulse. Even though part of him resented the fact that he was no longer his brother’s alpha and thus not responsible for protecting him against the world any longer. 

Yancy nodded. “Herc Hansen.”

“So he’s still got it?”

Even though it probably wasn’t the smoothest observation he could make at the time, Yancy’s face turned bright pink at the observation and he rubbed the claiming bite that had healed into white scar tissue before he shrugged. He tried to play it off as nonchalantly as he possibly could, but Raleigh wasn’t having any of it. He knew his brother and he knew that he had only seen that look on Yancy’s face once, when they were eighteen and fresh out of the Academy and never again.

“Should I go and give him the Alpha to Alpha talk? Tell him what happens if he messes with my brother?” Raleigh asked, making Yancy’s turn and even darker shade of pink and his mouth fall open as he tried to stammer out an answer to his brother’s query until Raleigh finally cracked a smile and grabbed his brother, easily pulling him into a headlock.

That he immediately released Yancy from.

“Rals, what’s the matter?” Yancy asked, his annoyance at being grabbed quickly evaporating when he saw Raleigh’s face tighten with worry and anger. The same two warring expressions that Yancy had seen on his mother’s face when she had realized he was serious about joining the Rangers. Seeing it on Raleigh’s face was unnerving and it also made him concerned over what had brought it out in his Alpha brother.

“You’re breeding.” Raleigh stated flatly, making Yancy laugh shortly and shake his head.

“Raleigh, come on. No. I can’t be! I wasn’t even supposed to be in heat! It wasn’t a proper-”

“Yancy.”

Yancy shut his mouth with a snap and exhaled, shaking head slowly as the news sunk in.

“You’re breeding. It’s in your scent.”

Yancy blinked at the answer. “But how-”

Raleigh gives him a knowing look and Yancy nods in understanding.

“Oh.”

Trust the Becket brothers to do everything together, Yancy thought, his mouth twisting in laconic amusement.

He should have guessed it was a possibility, with how strong the pull was the minute that they had laid eyes on each other. Even in his teenage years, he hadn’t ever been so overwhelmed by another Alpha. Herc had left his past flings in the dust. It made sense they’d conceive during their first time. It had been a real heat, no matter what weak protests he had thrown at his brother. He knew it was.

And now he was breeding and going out to fight a Kaiju.

“What should we do?” Yancy whispered, looking anywhere except at Raleigh’s face.

It was true he was the older one and made the decisions, but right now, he was too discombobulated to take his usual role. His instincts were warring with his Ranger training and despite knowing full well what he needed to do, he still had misgivings. So he deferred to his Alpha and waited for either the go ahead or the displeasure that was sure to come.

He fixed his gaze on the grim metal wall. He didn’t want to see the disappointment that would be as clear as day even though Raleigh would do his best to deny it. He did chance a glance when Raleigh didn’t exhale angrily or say anything else. In fact, Raleigh just looked thoughtful before he finally decided on something and nodded to himself.

“We fight. Just like we always have done. After, we decide what to do. But right now, we fight.”

Yancy swallowed hard and nodded.

“Okay.”

~*~*~*~*~

Herc went looking for Chuck the minute that he had gotten himself cleaned up and dressed for the day. Despite being in nothing but civilian clothes or his dress blues for nearly an entire year, the rhythm and regulations of the Shatterdome had seeped into him and he had no problems getting back into the civilian fatigues of the Ice Cube: White undershirt, navy jumper and trousers and black boots. Cold colours unlike the warm deserts of his homeland. He knew he could have stayed in bed, but he hadn’t ever been one to really not be doing anything.

He cleaned out the quarters so that they didn’t reek of his and Yancy’s heats and went out in search for Chuck. He hadn’t planned on it. He wanted to avoid the awkward conversation that was sure to follow their meeting after their respective heats. Especially now that he would have to endure the scent of another Alpha onto his kit.

Herc grimaced when he realized he was thinking of Chuck as his kit. He hadn’t done that since the first time they had drifted together. He paused in his search and concentrated. Although Yancy was a steady, reassuring pulse in the back of his mind, Chuck’s presence was still also there: Like a faint thread vibrating with something. It had called to his Alpha instincts to jump into action.

Just like it had when Sydney had been destroyed.

He didn’t waste anymore time and hurried to find him. He had to make sure that his kit was fine and if he wasn’t, Becket was going to wish that the Kaiju had ended him.

It didn’t take him long to find Chuck. His distress was like a beacon for Herc to follow, bright and clear in his head as he wrenched the door open. He was too much in a rush to be bothering with such niceties as knocking and found Chuck in the throes of a nightmare. Herc was willing to bet it had been the same nightmares that had plagued Chuck right after Angela had died.

Despite his nose wrinkling at the scents of a recent mating, he wasn’t going to leave his son to suffer. As carefully as he could manage, he gathered Chuck into his arms and held him tight, thankful that Chuck wasn’t a thrasher. A biter, but not a thrasher. He held him, not daring to wake up suddenly and stroked his hair, murmuring endearments under his breath until Chuck was calm enough to bring himself out of it.

Herc waited for a few moments, listening to Chuck’s breathing to make sure that it was uneven before he let him go. Or at least that had been his plan.

“Don’t go. Stay for once.” Chuck muttered sullenly, each word sounding as if it was being dragged out of him against his will.

Herc nodded and ran his hand comfortingly down Chuck’s back, eliciting a small purr from his son. Something that he hadn’t done in front of him for years. The last time had been when he had received Max.

“You have to get cleaned up.” Herc pointed out lightly. Raleigh’s scent oozing out from Chuck’s pores was starting to drive him mad, blotting out anything else that he could smell. Not only was he frantic over his own Omega, he was losing his fight to not mark Chuck with his own scent. His instincts were going haywire and he was willing to bet money that was why he had been able to comfort Chuck despite the distance and their familial Alpha/Omega ties being so faint.

Chuck moved to sniff himself and swore quietly. He was in dire need of a shower.

“If you let me go, I can do that.”

Herc snorted, but released Chuck, who stood up and wrapped the ruined bedsheet around his body before he limped to the showers. Herc frowned at the sight, since neither of them had really been body conscious before. He didn’t know what to make of that and only shrugged his shoulders as he went to open the vents in the room and and get some air in.

He had just finished doing this and had lit some incense when the alarm rang again. Herc’s stomach churned at the sound. He knew that damned sound all too well. It had haunted his dreams those four days he had spent sitting in medical and it haunted his dreams for months after.

He swallowed hard and went to the bathroom door and pounded on it.

“Chuck! Get out here fast! We gotta go!”

The door swung open and Chuck stepped out, his face going dead white at the sound. Without a word, he got dressed in the clothes Herc threw at him and they both ran to the Loccent room.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Yancy’s mouth was pressed into a thin line as they grappled with Knifehead. He wasn’t going down easily and it was taking most of their efforts to smash him down into the water.

The fight hadn’t been going as well as they had expected, this Kaiju was tougher and nastier than the ones they had faced before and had the tenacity of a demon. Despite the hard blows they were landing on it, the sonuvabitch wasn’t budging.

It was furious and reached up, punching into the left side of Gipsy and making Raleigh grunt in pain. Yancy winced in sympathy, but didn’t stop. He swung down and smashed Gipsy’s fist into the side of the Kaiju’s head. It shrieked in pain before stepping back and trying to shake off the blow. Raleigh didn’t give it time to do anything, since he followed up Yancy’s shot with a double rabbit punch, making it collapse onto one knee in the water.

It jumped up fast again, its blue eyes shining in rage as it got ready to come at Gipsy.

“Shoot him?” Raleigh asked him, his hand already to trigger the mechanism. Yancy nodded tersely and got into position.

In front of them, Knifehead moved into position, roaring its anger at being pummelled and thrown into the water over and over again. His mouth was open wide, giving them a neon blue target that they only had a small window to utilize. Yancy saw it first and raised his hand. He gave Raleigh a small mental nod and he followed suit.

“Empty it. Go! GO!”

The first couple of shots went wide, allowing Knifehead to come in close and swipe at Yancy’s arm, snapping it.

“YANCY! STAY WITH ME! YANCY! EMPTY THE CLIP! EMPTY THE CLIP!”

Yancy obeyed his brother and kept on firing, despite his agony. He didn’t stop, despite Raleigh’s scream of pain as Knifehead took another swipe at the left side, tearing Gipsy open and showering them with sparks before giving another shriek and finally collapsing into the water.

Yancy and Raleigh panted, both of them in equal amounts of horrible agony as they waited for the all clear to make sure that there were no lifesigns.

Yancy was the first to recover enough lucidity to order Raleigh to get ready. They had emptied a clip into Knifehead, but they couldn’t afford to think they had taken it out. Yancy had a feeling that it was still not done.

“Charge the cannon.”

He felt Raleigh’s confusion at the order, but he repeated the order again, making Raleigh do as he was told. The cannon charged fast and Raleigh swung it to the right, protecting his brother and their weakest spot.

It wasn’t a moment too soon that Knifehead appeared, oozing blue blood and ready to take them down with it.

Or at least it tried to.

It only made it far enough to rake its claws across Gipsy’s head and chest before Raleigh blew its head off before collapsing into the ocean.

“Kill number five. And my niece or nephew is still alive.”

Yancy heard Raleigh whisper, making him laugh before the pain overwhelmed him and knocked him out cold.

~*~*~*~*~

Herc and Chuck had just entered the Loccent room when the doors opened to reveal Mako. Her eyes widened in surprise at seeing them, but she composed herself quite quickly and let them pass. The Marshall was barking orders to the techs and Tendo’s hands were flying over the keyboard while the other engineers and techs were co-ordinating efforts to bring Gipsy and the Kaiju back to shore.

“Is it dead?” Chuck barked out, making the Marshall raise an eyebrow at the question. Chuck snarled at the non-response and Herc grabbed his arm, urging him to stand down. The Marshall saw this and nodded curtly.

“Fifth kill for the Beckets.” The Marshall replied, making Herc and Chuck visibly calm down at his answer.

“Where are they?” Herc asked.

“In Medical. They won, but not without damage to both Gipsy and themselves.”

Chuck hissed and Herc’s grip tightened in his distress. “But they’re alive?”

The Marshall nodded. “They won’t be doing a run for a long time though. This isn’t the way that I wanted you to return to duty, Hansen. But there you are. Striker will be operational shortly. You have a week’s furlough, but you will be on call. Now go.”

~*~*~*~*~*

Mako had just pulled a pen and the blueprints she had put aside when she had been called up to the Loccent room to assist with Gipsy Danger and the Kaiju disposal when there was a knock on her door. Stifling a sigh, she stuck the pen behind her ear and went to answer the door. Her eyes widened when the door revealed Sensei standing in the hallway waiting patiently for her to invite him in.

She stepped aside and he bowed to her before entering her room. He didn’t speak until he handed her a bundle wrapped in light blue silk. Curious, she unwrapped it to reveal the red shoe she had been carrying when he had rescued her after Tokyo had been decimated.

She looked up, unsure of what it meant for him to return her shoe to him and she could see his face soften and his eyes grow shadowy with sorrow for a moment before he spoke to her the words she had never expected to hear.

She was going to be a Jaeger Pilot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chuck always struck me as being horribly angry at Herc for coming second best in his life and has massive fears of abandonment on top of that. So he would have nightmares over the most pivotal and traumatic aspect of his life. So the fact that Herc actually stays with him is a big deal to him. 
> 
> Alphas parents and Omega children still have a bond with each other that alerts them to their offspring's distress if it's dire enough. Kit is the preferred term for a baby or a child, since they have more of a feline slant here. It also explains why they hiss or snarl when showing strong emotions. 
> 
> Kaiju confirmed kills are taken from the book and wiki, so they have five at the moment.
> 
> I didn't include the dialogue in Mako's scene because of stylisic reasons and again, the timeline will be different. 
> 
> Proofed for errors, so if they show up, my apologies. Title is from Placebo's "Battle for the Sun"


	6. To The Soldier, The Civilian: This Is War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stacker's back is nearly against the wall and the clock is ticking on the Jaeger Era. Mako finds her co-pilot and reunions can be both painful and surprisingly unexpected things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here, we get the aftermath of the battle, Mako gets her co-pilot and the end will come sooner, rather than later. 
> 
> Again, I have proofed as much as possible and if there are mistakes, my apologies. 
> 
> Title from 30 Seconds to Mars "This is War"

 

Stacker pushed himself away from his desk and tiredly rubbed at his eyes. He had read through all of the proposals that landed on his desk and sat back in his chair. He closed his eyes for just a few moments before he felt the familiar dripping. Grabbing a tissue, he blotted it clean and took out the omnipresent case from his pocket and swallowed a tab.

Once he had taken a few more moments to breathe, he looked at the stack with open disdain. The proposals for a wall were patently stupid. They had proven that Kaijus would and could decimate anything in their paths and that the Kaiju blue would drop the population down even further. The only way to neutralize the threat of extinction would be to destroy the Kaijus at their source.

He knew that wasn’t going to be a popular sentiment and the way that they would see it a waste of even more money, while the wall would save them even more. He knew how politics went. He had learned them all too well after his last mission. He knew he was going to have to either go rogue, or pull a sleight of hand and get more Shatterdomes and Pilots on board.

Gottlieb had already made noises that things were going to heat up sooner than expected as he scribbled his equations and built models alongside Geizler, who had noted something odd in the cellular makeup of the Kaiju he had managed to catch and dissect. They were running out of everything.

He had to act.

Having made up his mind, he went back to the stack of papers and sighed irritably. Vladivostok was scheduled to be shut down. Peru had been shut down. Hong Kong was teetering on the edge. Vancouver was holding out as was the Ice Cube.

The writing on the wall was clear enough that he could read it plainly.

Making a mental note of the pilots left, he resolved to start making a plan and putting it into action as soon as he knew the results of the trial run and Herc wasn’t too caught up in his Omega. Everything had to be perfect. Especially now that Striker Eureka was the only one at his disposal and with Gipsy and two pilots down, he needed more than just one Jaeger if his plan was ever going to work.

~*~*~*~*

Mako had just stepped into the Loccent room when Tendo caught her eye and pointed in the direction of the Kwoon and held up five fingers. Nodding, Mako hurried over there, knowing that this was part of the process and she didn’t dare be late for it. Not when she had dreamed about this for so long.

Her heart was racing, but not from her rapid arrival. But rather because of who she saw stripped down to just a vest and loose trousers and a bo staff held loosely in his hands. He twisted it, making the muscles bunch under his freckled skin. He looked up at her and smiled grimly, his lips curling up ever so slightly yet his eyes were distant and a dark stormy blue.

“Hansen-san.” Greeted him respectfully, making Herc incline his head in a slight nod and threw the staff at her before going to grab his own. She took off her shoes and shimmied out of her suit in the meantime while Herc loosened up, practicing a few forms as he waited for Mako to get ready.

She could see the Marshall standing with his hands clasped behind his back, seemingly uninterested at the proceedings. But Mako was sure that he hadn’t missed a thing. She knew, out of anyone in the Kwoon, that he was the one she had to convince. She slid a glance over to Hansen-san and saw that he was ready. Simply waiting for her to show him what she had. She knew that it wasn’t going to be much of a challenge to get him to accept her as his co-pilot. He knew, if Chuck hadn’t been drift compatible, she would have been the next one.

Their scores had been that close in the Academy and she had often wondered if Chuck had the edge over her simply because he had the biological complement to Hansen-san that she lacked as a female Alpha. If she had been an Omega, would it have played out different? She took a deep breath and pushed her old questions aside in order to focus on the present. She took longer, but she was there and she would get to pilot Eureka.

She just had to fight.

She walked over to him and put a decent distance between them and got her staff ready. Herc smiled mirthlessly before he lifted his staff.

“Begin.”

He didn’t attack first.

He waited for her to come at him and she did, in a flurry of moves that should have gotten him. But they didn’t. He simply ducked and caught her with a backslash that would have taken her head off had they been holding swords.

“Point.”

They slunk away and got into position to face each other again. Although his face was composed, Mako could see a spark of interest in the depths of those ocean blue eyes. He had stopped being detached. He was in it for real now.

They didn’t even wait for the call. He swooped in first this time, his moves rapid and painful when he clipped her calves and thighs. But he didn’t connect and she got one under his reach, the end of her staff jabbing painfully in his side. Enough to make him grimace when he moved apart.

They were tied.

But he took the lead, ducking under the arc of her staff and slapping it against her right shoulder, the wood of the staff right against her throat as he did. She swallowed, but wouldn’t give up. She pushed away from him, giving her enough space before she regained her footing and came at him.

Even with a numb arm, she moved fast. Faster than even his rattlesnake speed and got her staff and rapped his knee, making him drop and giving her the chance to put him in the same position that he had previously had her in.

She was breathing heavily and he was also, she realized. But he didn’t look angry. In fact, he looked strangely pleased. He dropped his staff and stood up, bowing slightly before he turned to walk away and towards the Marshall. She was too far away to hear what they said, but she saw the Marshall nod before he beckoned her over.

“Get ready. We’re going to do a trial run on Striker.”

~*~*~*~*~

Yancy woke up to the taste of medicine in his mouth and the feeling that his right arm was in pieces. He winced at the bright light of the medical unit and tried to cover his eyes, but found that his hand was being held down. Frowning, he turned to look at what had his hand trapped and let out a purr of relief when he saw Herc sitting next to his bed and holding his left hand.

“Water?” Herc asked, his tone neutral despite the lines of tension around his eyes and mouth. Even the freckles on his face stood out in stark contrast to his face. Yancy nodded and drank down the lukewarm water Herc gave him, grateful that it cut the taste in his mouth and soothed his throat and the sudden nausea that had appeared.

“Wait, where’s Raleigh?”  He asked once full wakefulness finally hit him. He moved to sit up, but was stopped by Herc putting a hand on his chest to keep him down and by a low warning growl that Yancy obeyed without a thought.

It was only when Yancy laid still that Herc moved his hand and let his Omega sit up slightly.

“He’s in the next room with his own Omega. Raleigh’s got some broken ribs, collapsed lung and circuit burns. You both got lucky. That wasn’t an easy Kaiju to bring down.”

Although it was blunt and quite dry with the facts, Yancy had to appreciate the fact that his Alpha got to the point without wasting too much time. He breathed a sigh of relief mixed with a touch of pride at being complimented by Herc and laid back, relieved that his brother was safe and he had his Omega watching over him. Although he hadn’t met or interacted with Chuck, he was confident that his brother was in good hands.

“How’s Gipsy?” He asked, moving to get more comfortable against the pillows that he could see propped up his casted right arm. He winced when he saw the plaster covered his arm from fingertips to shoulder. That, along with the baby guaranteed he was out of active duty for a long while.

When he remembered the kit, he turned to look at Herc, who put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed in an effort to comfort him.

“The kit’s fine. The doctor’s checked both of you over to make sure that you’re fine. Other than cracked ribs and the broken arm, you’re going to be okay. But Gipsy's gone. She was banged up pretty bad. I don’t know if she’s going to be rebuilt yet.”

Yancy nodded and tried to keep his emotions in check as he fought the overwhelming sense of loss that the news brought him. Herc sensed his distress, but only brought his hand up to cup the back of his head to run his fingers slowly through his hair.

“It’s never easy, to be forced out before you’re ready. Or to have your Jaeger destroyed. So for all it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

He shouldn’t feel that way, he thought fiercely. He was alive. Raleigh was alive and he knew how close it had been. He was alive and so was his kit. But despite his relief, the double loss of Gipsy and his position as a Ranger hit him hard.

“I know.”

Piloting Gipsy beside Raleigh was all he had known for years and now...Despite Herc being the Alpha he hadn’t ever really looked for being right by his side, it still hurt.

Herc didn’t say anything. But he didn’t just sit there and let Yancy tear himself up. Quietly, he carefully slid into the bed and curled up around Yancy. He wrapped his arm around Yancy and kissed the bite claim, making Yancy sigh and push back so that they were flush against each other with his back against Herc’s warm chest.

It didn't make it all okay, but it was a start.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chuck’s leg jiggled nervously as he watched and waited for Raleigh to wake up. Despite the monitors and the nurses assuring him that Raleigh was doing well...He didn’t believe them. Not until Raleigh opened his eyes and smiled to make his stupid face all warm and soppy and…

He growled and slumped down on the chair. When had he gotten so pahetically soft and sentimental? When did he start needing to see Raleigh’s face? When had it happened? Was it during the quiet times of their heat, when he had been half asleep and muzzy with satisfaction? Or was it when he finally noticed the sweet milk scent lying over his skin like a fine cologne and it clicked in place?

He was still puzzling over it when a faint memory surfaced of Raleigh coaxing him back to sleep and kissing him. Although his lips were dry and it was a brief kiss, Chuck found himself turning red.

He pushed it away and slumped down in the chair even further despite asking himself why he didn’t just come back. Raleigh wasn’t going to be waking up that damned soon. Not with the drugs that they had pumped into him. He recognized some of the heavy hitters from his own days in Medical and knew that it was pointless. He should go, talk to his old man, meet his omega, do something useful other than wait.

But he knew he was lying to himself.

It had scared him, when the warm, orangey presence he had come to associate with Raleigh faltered in his head, leaving him alone for the first time since he had been fifteen. He had tasted metal and blood in his mouth right then and his heart had sped up in fear of losing Raleigh.

Chuck had woken up to his father, his old protector providing a safe place as he always had. But it wasn’t as comforting as it should have been, even when Raleigh’s presence had come back in full force and almost bright enough to make him flinch.

It wasn’t a comfort because it wasn’t-

Chuck shook his head and got up, walking around the room and avoiding looking at Raleigh’s bruised and cut up face. He knew why he was still there and why he was still so keyed up, but he was fucked if he was going to admit it. Even if it was to himself. He couldn’t admit that inexplicably, Raleigh had become more than just a an Alpha, a bond and a meal ticket to freedom.

it was the most daunting realization he had ever faced. Even more than when he had presented as an Omega, rather than an Alpha like his father or a Beta like his mother. Raleigh was his now. His Alpha in a way that his father never would be. His Raleigh.

And he had nearly lost him. Right after their heat, when he was still collecting the clues, he nearly lost Raleigh.

He scrubbed his face and ran his hands through his hair, making it stick up in messy cowlicks and told himself to stop being so-

“I didn’t think you would be here.”

Chuck spun around and tried to snarl at the self-assuredness of the bastard as he lay there on the bed worse for the wear, but still alive. Raleigh’s lips were quirked up in the soft, private smile that always made Chuck feel as if he was in on the secret and it warmed him, even if he wouldn’t admit it. He wanted to snarl, maybe tell him to fuck off.

But his heart wasn’t in it.

All he did instead was swallow and come closer to bed. He looked down at Raleigh and took in all of the sights of him lying there with just a sheet to cover him: The bruised skin, the bandages, the contusions and the way that Raleigh watched him through heavy-lidded eyes.

“Where else would I be, Raleigh?”

Chuck found himself replying before he leaned down, as careful as if he were approaching a poisonous snake and kissing his Alpha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a clear parallel between the two pairings and it is done on purpose and I swear that I was planning on having Yancy and Chuck interact in this chapter. But it was still pretty damned sticky and complicated, since they will be gearing up for the major drop shortly.
> 
> Chuck-He's not as dense with his emotions, but rather doesn't want to own up to more than he feels he has to due to his fear that he will be left the only one standing. He's great at repressing and he's going to do it until he won't be allowed to any longer. He's not ready to say it just yet and that will come. But he's fully aware that it's all changed. 
> 
> Mako-Herc has great control in the Drift and I did make him be pleased, rather than ecstatic like Raleigh was since he could conceiveably have a better Drift compatibility with other pilots. I also didn't want it to have the exact same circumstances as her fight with Raleigh. Herc is more relaxed, yet tougher to beat.


	7. Show Me The Wonder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Kaiju are too silent and keeping everyone on edge. In the lull, Raleigh and Herc make provisions, Chuck is learning what it means to be in a bond and actually live a life he never expected to have. Tendo keeps watch and Mako gets ready to be a pilot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably one of the sharpest shifts of mood in the story and a pause for everyone. I wanted to show everyone more or less doing their thing while they wait for the Kaiju to attack. It is stressful, but life has to be lived and I also wanted to show more Chuck and Raleigh navigating through their bond and Herc and Yancy doing their every day things. And yes, I didn't forget Mako. 
> 
> Title grabbed from the Manic Street Preachers. Proofed, but again, my apologies.

Chapter 7

Tendo frowned at his screen as he was again faced by a blank and calm screen. It had been like that for the past couple of weeks and he couldn’t help but to worry. Even in the beginning, the attacks were like clockwork. They hadn’t had that much quiet time and it was making everyone highly uneasy. 

Gottlieb and   Geizeler were clocking in overtime as they worked to predict when the next attack was going to take place and Tendo himself hadn’t seen the inside of his room since his shift began several days prior. He had taken to sleeping in a cot pushed into a dark corner and mainlining so much coffee that his hands shook even when he was still. 

He looked at the clock and yawned. He still had a couple of hours left before he was off on his three day furlough. A furlough he would have to cut short if any Kaiju decided to surface. He dearly hoped not, since he was sure he had passed the mildly dependant to completely addicted stage in regards to caffeine. 

He smirked at the thought and was about to go back to monitor the far quadrants when he heard someone step up behind his chair. 

“Anything?”

He turned his head and smiled briefly at Mako as she leaned over and checked out the screen. He knew he had a stupidly fond expression on his face, but he couldn't help it. Mako was his weakness and it was a weakness that they had had a hard time keeping hidden from the Shatterdome and most importantly; from the Marshall. Although Tendo doubted he'd be in for a world of pain if it was revealed, he wasn't keen on testing that theory out. 

He turned to look at her and she smiled before slily sneaking a quick kiss at the corner of his mouth. She had always managed to surprise him and today was no exception. He looked down and shook his head, not trusting his voice to hold out if he attempted to speak. 

Mako studied the screen and sighed. She had been on Loccent duty enough to know that the clear screen wasn't a good sign. Something big was coming and even though she knew that Tendo was worried, she was secretly excited. Striker Eureka had first dibs depending on the category and she was determined to prove herself as a pilot. 

Despite their practice run being delayed, she was positive that it wouldn't be a problem. Herc Hansen had an exemplary record and had proven he was a fairly uncomplicated drift partner to have. It was all she had hoped for ever since she had entered the Academy and she was secretly looking forward to battle and winning. 

“Nothing's changed.” Tendo murmured. 

“Let's hope that it stays that way during your furlough.” Mako murmured in his ear. 

Tendo grinned. “Let's hope so. I'm off in a couple of hours, knock on wood.”

Mako nodded. “I'll see you then.”

Tendo laughed. “Oh you will.”

~*~*~*~*~

Raleigh frowned at the paperwork in front of him before picking up a pen and filling out the red edged sections, painstakingly copying out the information from the forms that Herc had given him almost a month ago after he and Chuck had mated. His fingers were still a bit numb from the fight and he was having a hard time not making his writing shaky as he finished one of the lines.

“Hey, can you spare a few minutes?” 

Raleigh looked up and nearly smirked when he saw that Herc had the same wad of paperwork in his hand and a black pen as per regulations. He put the pen down and gestured to the seat across from him. They only had one desk in the quarters he shared with Chuck. Chuck, who was in a mood and busy with specs that he had made all too clear he didn't want Raleigh to see. So Raleigh had kissed him on the forehead, earning him a growl and a light punch in the arm before he ensconced himself in the main area.

He gave Herc a cursory once over and wondered if that was the same reason why he had decided to also come to the commons to do paperwork. He knew that his brother was a pretty level headed man, but the news of Gipsy being out of commission and his move to the injured list had done a number on him and he had to admit that Herc had the patience of a saint for dealing with all of that. Chuck had gone through that grief already and they had settled into a truce that was moving slowly into something he recognized as love.

Yancy hadn't had that time and he knew his brother would need the space and time to cope. He also had to admit that Herc was dealing with it fairly well, since he hadn't run out like Raleigh would have been tempted to do.

“Yeah. What do you need?” Raleigh asked as his hand finally stopped feeling cramped and not as tingly as before. 

“I need Yancy’s records to fill these out, since the kits are coming in five months or so.”

Herc replied, making Raleigh pause and blanch slightly as the number of months left sank in his mind once again. Five months. There would be a kit. His and Chuck's kit. It was almost surreal to know that was going to happen. Particularly when he was sure he would be dead or not get to see the kit after it was whelped.

It took him a bit, but he got his emotions under check. He couldn't start tearing through his insides now. Especially not in front of Yancy's bondmate.

Raleigh swallowed and nodded. “Yeah. Of course. I’ll get them for you. When do you need them?”

“Tomorrow? I’m guessing that you’re out here for the same reason as I am.” Herc noted gibly. Raleigh’s mouth quirked up to the left in a faint smirk before he snorted in amusement. 

“One desk and Chuck's working on specs and refuses to let me see them. Besides, every good Ranger knows the value of a tactical retreat.”

It was Herc’s turn to snort at that. 

“All I’m glad for at the moment is that there have been no attacks as of late. Gottlieb’s working over time trying to figure out why his numbers are holding steady and our funding’s still pouring in. But I’d hate to move Yancy and Chuck when they start nesting. Angela didn't take it well when we had to leave Sydney and she had just started. I'd hate to see a repeat of that.”

Raleigh frowned. Nesting? That would explain why his jacket and the spare blankets had made their way to Chuck’s side of the bed. 

The confusion must have been writ large on his face, since Herc asked him about it.

“He’s started?” Herc asked, making Raleigh nod. Herc frowned. 

“Yancy’s going to do it soon then. Shite. We’re definitely running out of time.”

“We’re running out of time for what?”

“The Marshall will fill you in. We don’t have all the data as of yet. I’ll come by later to pick up the papers.” Herc finished off, walking back to his own quarters. He stopped at the doorway and looked at Raleigh. 

“And Raleigh? Take care of him. Even if he does give you a fucker of a time.”

“Of course. As long as you’re doing the same for Yancy.”

Herc grinned at that before disappearing and leaving Raleigh alone to mull the cryptic news while he went back to his paperwork. 

He pushed his questions out of his mind when the letters under his pen started to become too shaky. He needed to concentrate if he was going to finish this and get the benefits and maybe even housing. He was determined that Chuck and his kit were going to get everything that he could for them and trying to figure out what the Marshall had up his sleeve wasn’t going to help in that situation.

So he resolved to not think about it any longer and fill out the forms. He would know sooner or later what was going to happen and then he’d get ready to face it all.

~*~*~*~*~

Chuck swallowed down the ginger ale and made a face at the bottle as if it had personally offended him. As far as he was concerned, it might as well have. He hated Ginger Ale, but it was the only thing that settled his stomach. And he needed to not be puking when he was trying to get all the specs sorted out for Gipsy to be fully operational in two weeks time. He didn't want for Raleigh or Yancy to know just yet that Gipsy was being rebuilt and he was working on the specs along with the others. She was too valuable to be scrapped and even if Yancy was out for the time being, she would be ready if needed. 

He had been working on it so much that he had maxed out his allotted working hours and would be forced to stay in his quarters for the next week. But he wanted-no, needed- for Gipsy to be perfect. He couldn't ever be back in Eureka, but he could at least do this for his Alpha. 

He just couldn't tell Raleigh yet and his dad had also promised that he wasn't going to spill secrets. Belatedly, Chuck realized that it was also for Yancy that he was doing it for. Although they hadn't officially met, Chuck was secretly pleased he was doing something for his dad's Omega. Someone must have helped raise Raleigh properly and Yancy must have been that person. So his dad kept his mouth shut. There was no need for upheaval. Especially not when Herc was going through trials to pilot Eureka with one of Chuck's former classmates. 

Although he also was seething from time to time, he had known that it would happen. That was the reason why he had been sold off to Raleigh in the first place. And somehow had ended up with him working close to the Jaegers he loved and slowly inching towards-

Chuck snorted and rubbed his eyes, going back and making more notes on the blueprints. He wasn't going to give it a name. Not when it was blatantly obvious. He had lucked out with Raleigh, he was fully aware of that. Just like his old man had lucked out with Yancy. The Hansens didn't get fairytale endings. Chuck was all too damned aware whenever he woke up and had to take the meds he kept hidden behind the toiletries in the bathroom cabinet, despite knowing full well that Raleigh was aware of them being there. 

If that was as close as they would get, in a world that was rapidly reaching its best before date, he'd take it.

He looked down at the specs and winced slightly when he shifted and the fabric of his shirt rubbed against his front. His skin, as well as his chest was getting more and more sensitive as the breeding progressed and it was yet another change that he was growing heartily sick of. The morning sickness was bad enough, the sensitivity and the acute sense of smell another. The doctor had told him that it got better in the last two months, but he was sure that the doctor was lying to him.

Chuck put his pen down and growled, feeling guilty at being angry at the kit growing in his belly. He hated being so disgustingly weak and needing to be looked after. Despite Raleigh being able to take hints, Chuck was well aware of the concern that was coming across as solicitous behaviour in his Alpha. Although the Omega side of him enjoyed it, the soldier part of him felt weak and useless. 

An illogical emotion that he chased away whenever he sank too deep into it. If he had been a state breeder, or with Scott, he wouldn't have Raleigh. Chuck swallowed hard at the thought of not waking up wrapped in his Alpha's arms and scent. To not see those dark blue eyes with the crinkles at the corners smiling at him...Chuck shook his head and put his pen down, too overwhelmed to work. 

He pushed the chilling thought away and stood up, massaging his back. He had sat at the desk for a long time and he was both in need of dinner and...

“Hey.”

Chuck turned around and tried to keep his face composed when he saw Raleigh in the doorway, a heavily stuffed envelope in his hand and that smile on his face. The one that always made Chuck melt. He must have had that same soft look on his face because Raleigh's smile grew wider as he slowly moved closer.

“Have you finished work for the day?” Raleigh asked, putting a tentative hand on Chuck's hip. 

It was always cautious and careful on his part, something that was equal parts irritating and endearing to Chuck, but he didn't have the words to tell Raleigh he didn't need to be so careful. The kit was safe and he had grown out of lashing out. He couldn't do it any longer. Not when he had been all too clear that time Raleigh had woken up and he had kissed him and clung to him like a drowning man clung to a life raft. 

But they still had miles to go and not enough words to get there. But maybe later?

“Yeah. I was...You hungry?” Chuck asked, his words clumsy even though his body was moving smoothly towards his Alpha. He was still better at communicating with gestures and he was quite surprised that Raleigh let him. 

“Yeah. Do you want to get something to eat?”

Chuck nodded and Raleigh wrapped his arm around Chuck's waist as they went to the mess hall.

~*~*~*~

“I'll take the right. You're on the left, Mori.” Herc told her the minute she entered the pod. He was already standing there, in a new suit with the helmet dangling loosely from his fingers. It wasn't the same camo green that he and Chuck had used, but a shiny dark metallic blue. He noted as he watched Mako get in that it matched her hair. It was a coincidence, he knew. But it still stood out for him. 

“Okay. No problem.” She acquiesced, her tone cheery as she put on her helmet and got into position. He did the same and turned to look at her. 

“Don't follow the memories and don't lose yourself to them. Just let it all go. You'll be fine.”

Herc told her as they waited for the drop. 

“Initializing handshake.” Tendo's voice floated through their helmets before it happened.

Mako gasped and her eyes went wide. 

They were in the drift. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nesting and Gestation-Yes, this is a real thing. I just took it a bit more literally with Chuck and Yancy in that they will make nests and give birth in them. Male Omegas have a shorter gestational period simply because despite being able to get pregnant, it is tough on their bodies. The babies are also smaller, but healthy. 
> 
> Also, my apologies for taking awhile with this one. I had some real life issues to address and work has been really busy lately. Also, thank you to all that are reading and commenting. Cheers!


	8. It's Time To Begin, Isn't It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Science department actually pays for its keep and plans get rushed because of it. Raleigh and Herc don't make promises they can't keep. Yancy and Chuck have to say goodbye and wait to see what happens now that time has run still.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penultimate Chapter, folks and the Science Bros make an appearance, something that I didn't expect to happen. I admit that this chapter has a frenetic pace to it that is a contrast to the other one. It will even out in the end, which hopefully will come soon. Once everything settles at work. I've got midterms coming up and hopefully after that passes, the end/coda will appear. 
> 
> Proofed and edited, but if there are mistakes, apologies. 
> 
> Also, again, many thanks to all that are reading and sticking with this story. Cheers!

“Are you barking mad, Geizler?” Gottlieb asked him as he wiped the blood leaking from his nose in a brusque gesture that Geizler recognized as tenderness in his colleague. 

“I got information.” Geizler whinged and tried to hold still, but his hands were shaking and he couldn't stop shivering and why was he so damned cold?

“You attempted an utterly imbecilic action, that's why.” Gottlieb returned, making Geizler that he had spoken aloud. He also came to realize that he wasn't as cold as he had been and that had been due to the orange shock blanket that Gottlieb had thrown around his shoulders without him noticing. He smiled wanly at Gottlieb and couldn't find it himself to snap back. Herman was right. It had been stupid, but worth it. 

He had learned more than he ever had in the past. But he needed help. He couldn't do it alone and the Kaiju brain that the Marshall had told them was coming was what he needed to finalize his answer. 

“I found something, that's why I did it.” Newt finally was able to explain to Herman, who looked at him suspiciously. 

“About them?” He asked, his accent biting off the words crisply as he handed Newt a cup of microwaved coffee.

Newt nodded and received the coffee with alacrity, despite the subpar taste that he knew would coat his mouth with bitterness. But it was warm and it was what he needed at the moment.

Herman's mouth thinned out, making it look like a slash in his pale and gaunt face. 

“This changes everything.” He mused as he limped about and sank down in a chair. Newt didn't say anything and sipped at the coffee, waiting for Herman to finish his calculations. 

“I'm right in assuming that you will attempt this foolishness again once your hands have stopped shaking?”

“Well, that and when the brain gets here that the Marshall promised me. Yeah.” 

Herman nodded and his face closed off in that expression Newt had learned was still doing calculations. 

“How long until that happens?” 

“About two hours, give or take.”

“Then I will do it with you. No sense in you having all the glory.”

Newt would have smiled. He really would have, but his hands jerked badly and coffee spilled all down his front. 

“Oh dammit, Newt.”

Those were the last words that they spoke to each other until the Kaiju head was delivered to the laboratory. 

Newt's hands were still shaking and Herman was still dourly silent as he watched Newt get his makeshift machinery working. Herman was still silent when Newt got them both ready and flicked the switch. 

He had been lucky that he had found a bucket under the autopsy table to throw up in and hoped that it was worth it. 

Hearing Newt's excited shrieks and having to suffer being grabbed and manhandled toward the Loccent room and the Marshall seemed proof of it. At least he hoped that was the case. He didn't think he would ever really recover from having Newt Geizler and that...that... _thing_ in his head. Even if it was for a short period of time.

~*~*~*~

Stacker had just entered the Loccent room when Tendo looked up from his screen with a blank expression on his face. But his eyes were bright and shiny with worry. 

“What Shatterdome?” Stacker asked as he went to look at the screen for the latest news scrolling on the right side of the screen. 

Tendo swallowed hard before typing in the query and pulling it up. 

“Manila got taken down by a category IV Kaiju. Vladivostok held off just enough to beat it, but it breached the Shatterdome.”

Stacker's mouth twisted in what was his version of a smile. “Good thing that we made the deal then. Tell the techs to be ready to receive Cherno. Send them a message also.”

Tendo nodded and went to work doing just that, his hands flying over the keyboard as he relayed it forward. 

“Any other activity from the breach?”

Tendo shook his head. “Nothing at the moment, but Gottlieb's numbers came through. More Category IV's are expected and we won't get a break in between like we did with the last one.”

Stacker nodded, his mind moving as he weighed the options and logistics in regards to what action to take next. 

“Tell Hong Kong to be on an even stricter alert and to contact us as soon as there is movement. Striker, Cherno and Gipsy are at our disposal if needed. We have no choice but to push forward with the plan.”

He heard Tendo making affirmative noises when he spun on his heel and had Geizler and Gottlieb practically running into him and babbling excitedly about the news that they had just come across. 

Stacker sighed, but let them lead him to the Science Division. He needed all of the data he could get at that time. Considering that the time window had just now shrank to less time than he had been gambling on, if Gottlieb's numbers and Geizler's frantic ramblings were anything to go by. 

He was about to just lose it on them when the alarms rang out again.

“It's another Category IV. It's already taken down Crimson Typhoon.”

“Get Cherno and Striker out. We need to take this one down now!”

~*~*~*~*

Herc rotated his neck as he walked down the hall hurriedly towards Yancy. He felt like he was out of sorts and crawling out of his skin after the tests had been run. He could still feel bits of her sliding around in his mind, although with every minute he was away from her, they disappeared. Yancy's quiet presence replaced them and he had to breathe a sigh of relief at that. He needed the contact to erase the Drift lingering in his mind. Although it had gone better than any of them had expected, he realized that he hated the feeling of again having someone be that close in his head again. 

He had gotten used to the silence and then to Yancy. To have Mako there as well made it complicated and like the boundaries had somehow been blurred and rearranged into a map that he wasn't quite adept at reading just yet. Something he would have to change before they faced heavy combat. He had no doubts Mako would be as good as Chuck was. Their minds had a similar feel in battle situations and she was a natural at handling the weapons and reacting accordingly. He had that one worry-

Herc cut himself off. He was off the training ground. Yancy was his sole focus at the moment and had to be, since he had begun to nest and Stacker had hinted at a possible strike or a movement coming sooner, rather than later than expected. 

Yancy was asleep when Herc finally got back to their quarters. It had been a long and eventful day. Even with his levelheadedness was wearing thin by the end of the day. He could feel Yancy's low mood and it was all he could do to not run to his Omega. But he had forced himself to break through it like had in the past and stayed until his presence was no longer absolutely necessary. Now all he wanted to do was to wash away the sweat and the lingering smell of rubber and metal from his suit before crawling into bed with his mate and surrounding himself with Yancy's intoxicating scent. 

He couldn't get enough of Yancy's scent. Nor could he get enough of Yancy. It was ridiculous how much he craved mating with him, tasting his sweat-soaked skin and inhaling the scent of him as he buried himself into his Omega. Herc was almost concerned at how frantically they gravitated towards each other. He had loved Angela, but he had never been so drawn to her that with just a glance, he was already ripping her clothes off. 

It wasn't the same with Yancy. It was his crooked close-lipped smile, or the light in those clear blue eyes. Herc wasn't sure. All he knew was that when it happened, everything else stopped existing and he saw the same hunger and desire in Yancy's answering looks. It was insane how hard they had fallen for each other after one heat. It usually took several and maybe it was the breeding that made it stronger, or the fact that they weren't certain of the time left. He wasn't sure nor did he care. It was something he'd never believed he'd ever have again and he wouldn't take it for granted for as long as he had it. 

He had to walk quickly past the bed where Yancy had started to build his nest, or else he'd never get clean. 

He made a quick job of it and got dressed in clean civies and walked out to find Yancy just then shaking off the last remnant of sleep.

“What time is it?” He asked, yawning widely as he squinted to look at the clock. As he pulled it closer, Herc was slightly touched and amused to see that he had wrapped himself up in Herc's old sheepskin jacket that was too damned big. 

“It's late. Trials just ended awhile back.” Herc replied lightly. Yancy nodded and put the clock down before lying down in the nest again. 

“It went well?” Yancy murmured, his eyes shut as he burrowed into the bedding that was redolent of Herc's scent. 

“Yeah. We're on call if-”

It was as if the universe had just been waiting for Herc to say that. 

Yancy shook himself awake, his eyes wide as he looked at the screen. 

“Two of them. Category IV. One already took down Crimson.” He whispered, his face blanching as he read the stats. 

“You're going?” He was trying to hide it, but the anxiety was clear in his voice. Category IV one at a time were nothing to mess with. Two at a time was going to require all of the firepower they had at their disposal. If Crimson got taken down by one, it wasn't going to be an easy fight by any stretch of the imagination. 

Yancy knew it, with an icy certainty that Striker was going to be called out. Herc was going out there and he wasn't-He shut that thought off and looked at his Alpha, hoping that he was wrong that his instincts were misfiring, but the same certainty was mirrored in his Alpha's expression. 

Herc's mouth thinned as he nodded and Yancy took a deep breath and nodded. 

Herc didn't say anything as he pulled his Omega into a quick, but nearly bone-crushing hug.

“I'll-”

“Don't make a promise you can't keep. Just-”

Yancy broke off and claimed Herc's mouth in a kiss that was both brutal and passionate at the same time. It was all teeth and viciousness and a goodbye rolled into one, leaving Herc breathless when Yancy pulled back. 

“Go. It's time.”

Herc swallowed hard and nodded to prevent himself from saying anything else when there was nothing else to be said. He would either die or he would come back whole or in pieces. Saying anything was pointless. Not when there was enough uncertainty in the air. 

He left Yancy sitting there, curled up in his jacket, his face set in a stoic mask that only cracked enough as Yancy gave him a small grin. That was the last Herc saw of him before he headed down to the conn pod. 

~*~*~*~

“You're kidding.” Raleigh breathed out as Chuck stepped back, a small triumphant smirk on his face as he took in the naked awe and admiration on his Alpha's face as he looked at his beloved Gipsy. 

“Do I ever?” Chuck snarked back, making Raleigh shoot him a look before returning to his appreciation of his girl. 

“But still...You did all of this?” Raleigh asked, clearly surprised as how Gipsy looked all clean and shiny and...new.

Chuck shook his head. “I worked the specs. The crews did the rest and it was a fucker of a time in keeping it quiet.”

“Why did you keep it quiet?” Raleigh asked, curious as to why Chuck wouldn't flat out tell him and maybe even use it as a bargaining chip or something. He was devious enough at times, Raleigh had found. 

Chuck's face closed off and Raleigh cursed his stupidity. It was still touch and go with Chuck, despite his growing adeptness at being able to tread his Omega's moods, he had a few pitfalls here and there. Pitfalls that usually resulted in sniping, or worse, icy silence that took ages to break. 

“Look, forget-”

“It wasn't a sure thing, her being operational. Knifehead chewed her up pretty good. I didn't want to promise you something that I couldn't deliver. Or Yancy.”

Chuck replied softly, his voice ragged with an undercurrent that Raleigh found hard to pin down. 

He didn't say anything and just smiled and slid his hand into Chuck's, twining their fingers together. 

“Well...thanks.”

Chuck's face was still shuttered, but as he looked down, his expression cracked just enough to allow a small smile to get through. Even though it was aimed at the ground and not at him, Raleigh was glad that it was there. They were cool. 

He pulled Chuck closer, just wanting to bury himself in the warm scent of his breeding Omega when the blaring of the alarms startled them apart. 

Chuck's face drained of colour at the noise as he pulled away and stepped back. Raleigh shook his head furiously, reaching out to him and wrapping his hand around his wrist when Tendo showed up, his face grim when his eyes fell on them. 

“Suit up, Becket. We're doing the drop tonight.”

“What? Wait, who's going to be my pilot?” 

Tendo didn't have to answer, because the doors opened to reveal the Marshall standing there in his flight suit.

“Oh.”

Tendo nodded. 

“I'll give you a few minutes. But we don't have that much time left. I know how important it is to say goodbye.”

There was a strange catch in his voice as he spoke, but he disappeared quickly enough, leaving Chuck and Raleigh with just enough time and privacy to say their farewells.

“You don't have to say anything, Rals.” Chuck told him, his voice straining for neutral but giving up the game when it cracked on his name. 

“I know. But I want to. Come here.” 

Raleigh had to hide his surprise at how easily Chuck slipped into his embrace, letting Raleigh nose in his throat before biting him lightly and closing his eyes at the scent of Chuck, committing it and the feel of Chuck's rounded body as it slotted perfectly into his. It was too early still to feel the Kit moving, but Raleigh was still hyper aware of him being there, right under Chuck's skin. 

“I'm not promising anything. But I can tell you I never regretted being bonded with you. Ever.”

Chuck shuddered and inhaled sharply and nodded. 

“I didn't either.”

Raleigh pulled away then and looked at Chuck, cupping his face with his hands and pressing their foreheads together, smiling at his mate until Chuck returned the smile, albeit tentatively. But it was returned. 

“Becket!”

He swallowed hard and let Chuck go, looking back briefly at him. Chuck's eyes looked suspiciously glassy, but he nodded at Raleigh, his hand loosely curled around his stomach, still hidden under the thick blue sweater he had stolen from Raleigh's wardrobe. Raleigh nodded back before he headed to suit up and finally fucking end this war once and for all. 

He had a mate and a kit to get back to and a nephew to look forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The drift-In my headcannon, you still keep the imprint of the person that you drifted with, that's why Herc has gotten so twitchy about it and why he needs to get back to Yancy to renew their imprint, so to speak. He is fairly neutral towards Mako, but it still does affect him having her in his head. 
> 
> Just like Herman is completely freaked out about it happening to him.
> 
> Yes, I sacrificed Crimson. I feel bad about that. It's my student's favourite Jaeger, but it fit, so hence them biting it first. 
> 
> As for the timeline, let's just say it's a timey-wimey thing in that instead of five years, we get a month and some in between the Knifehead and near Apocalypse. Yep.


	9. If Love Is A Labour, I'll Slave Till The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war has to end and the breach is going to be closed, one way or another. That's all that matters and they all know it. They just have to decide how to pay the price of it happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, this was a hard chapter to craft, since I was playing quite fast and loose with so many things here. But here's the end, it's been a mad ride and took a lot out of me than I ever expected.
> 
> Edited and proofread, but it there are mistakes, my apologies. 
> 
> Title is from Rise Against.

“Cherno! Hang on!.” Raleigh found himself shouting as Gipsy rushed towards the location where Striker stood marooned. He didn’t even register that the Marshall was moving in perfect synchronicity as they moved to get into the fray. Striker stood inert,  the entire system shocked and useless until they could get it boosted again and with the Kaiju coming right at her, despite Cherno coming behind it.

They could hear Herc’s colourful swearing and Mako’s rapid questions as she tried to figure out an alternate way to jump-start the system as they waited for either death or help to arrive. Cherno’s pilots were silent, their focus concentrated solely on destroying the Kaiju in their sights. They were angry at having had been bested in battle earlier and they weren’t going to let the insult go easily.

Cherno Alpha was still fighting. Their hull was cracked and seriously damaged, yet the Kaidonov’s refused to give up. They still could scrap and that was all that mattered. Striker had to carry the motherload. They couldn’t afford to lose her now that it was so close.

They also couldn’t afford to lose more pilots after losing the Weis and Crimson and even though they hadn’t exchanged more than casual greetings, they would save the Kaidonovs, Cherno would have to be sacrificed, but with luck, they wouldn’t need him any longer.

Cherno struck out, smashing the heavy carapace that covered the back of the Kaiju and making it shriek loudly and whip around to attack it instead of its intended target. That was all the opportunity that Cherno needed to bring its massive fists together and crush its skull before sending a charge right through it, frying it and making its head exploded like a crushed egg. Kaiju blue was all over the place as it burst, eating into the shell of Cherno’s hull.

“Get out of there! Sasha! Alexei! Get out!”

Raleigh heard Tendo’s voice in passing and a smattering of Russian cursing before they heard the tell-tale roar of the predicted Kaiju coming up again.

“Lead it away from all of them! Go!” Buy us time until Striker gets back online to close the breach! Go!”

Tendo shouted frantically.

“Got it!”

Raleigh shouted as they turned to face the monster that Gottlieb had predicted would show up as it had. Three of them. The beginning of the invasion.

The Kaiju had seen what had happened to its companion and wasted absolutely no time in making its attack.

It charged at Gipsy, barely giving Raleigh and the Marshall time to brace for impact as it slammed into Gipsy, making the metal creak with the pressure.

But she was only taken by surprise for a few seconds before Gipsy threw the Kaiju above her head and the Kaiju landed in the water. They were too close to the shore and damage was unavoidable, but they had gotten away from Striker.

It didn’t stay down, but this time, they were ready for it to attack.

The first hit was a right hook that had the Kaiju’s head snapping back with the force of the blow. It was stunned and allowed them to follow up with a swift uppercut that had it stumbling around like a drunk in a bar. It spat out blue when it finally got it’s bearings and went straight for Gipsy.

They grappled about again, with the Kaiju snapping and pushing them closer to shore until they smashed into a shipyard and rolled over half-finished boats and knocked tons of freight and shipping containers all over the place. They got to their feet about the same time, the monster shaking its head to dispel the dizziness and Raleigh and the Marshall looking about for a weapon that they could use to their advantage. Before they could, the Kaiju came at them from the air.

“What the-”

It shrieked as it grabbed Gipsy and carried her away from the carnage, it’s claws scoring the metal side of Gipsy as it flew away. Its grip tightened and both Raleigh and the Marshall knew that they had to do something drastic.

Raleigh wracked his brain as he tried to remember all of the additions that Chuck talked about as he had shown Raleigh the newly repaired Gipsy. He cast a look around and finally saw it, right by the Marshall’s hand.

Raleigh’s eyes widened and he looked at the Marshall, who punched the button.

When the sword came out and Gipsy’s arm drew back for the killing blow, Raleigh didn’t know who it was that screamed first, only that the sound of both of their voices mixed together was all that filled their ears as the sword ripped through the Kaiju’s body and plunged both of them into the ocean.

~*~*~*~*~

“Oh for fuck’s sake! Finally!” Herc growled out as all their systems whirred to life. Mako breathed out a sigh of relief and they moved towards the direction of the breach, careful to keep an eye out for any more Kaiju that could arrive. They had been keeping track of the fight between Gipsy and the second Kaiju while they re-routed the wiring and had now ended up being the guard, rather than the payload. All they had to do was make sure that Gipsy went down and closed the breach now that they knew they needed a Kaiju body to close the breach.

But Tendo hadn’t explained exactly how Gipsy and its pilots would get back up.

Herc didn’t even let himself think about that and just forced himself to focus on keeping the perimeter clear. Gottlieb had said that there was going to be-

He didn’t have time to finish that thought when the last predicted Kaiju showed up away from where Gipsy had sunk under the waves, but was quickly heading in that direction.

“Ready, Mori?” Herc asked, grinning to himself as he moved in position, making Mako nod as she followed suit.

They struck first, with a burst of speed and a flurry of punches that had the Kaiju stepping back and away from the breach and into another open part of the ocean. It felt like they were winning for a bit, just out of sheer force when the Kaiju used its barbed tail as a whip, scoring a large gash across the front of Striker and forcing them to let it go. Having gotten itself loose, it sank under the waves, it’s objective clear: It was going after Gipsy.

Herc’s lips peeled back from his teeth as they followed. They had to win this one, no questions. Gearing up for a fight, Striker reached out and grabbed the tail, ignoring the muted shrieks the beast was giving, the water distorting them into low level screeching. It struggled to get out of Striker’s grip, but when it couldn’t, it used its tail to pull them closer and kicked at Striker, leaving deep gouges into the metal again.

Another kick connected and it was too damned close to the right joint. The claws dug deep furrows from the shoulder joint down, pulling it down sharply and it was all Herc could do to keep the searing pain at bay. He knew he only had a few more minutes before his arm was useless and he was going to make it all count. He gritted his teeth and pushed forward.

Striker took the chance and snapped the bones of the tail before letting go and both Herc and Mako had to scramble to find purchase on the sea floor.But when they did, they could see that the Kaiju’s tail dropped bonelessly to the floor and it was screaming in a searing rage as it lurched towards them, the claws on its forelegs sharp and deadly looking as it kicked up sand with each stride.

“Bloody hell!” Herc shouted as they were showered in sparks. It was too damned close for comfort.. He looked up to the screens and frowned. They weren’t compromised yet, but it was damned close. He turned to look at Mori, who was biting her lip as she realized the same thing.

“Think we can do this in four moves?” Herc asked her, making her mouth curve into a wicked looking smirk. Herc huffed a laugh and got into position, Mako mirroring his movements as they got into position to finish their enemy.

They moved in tandem to get Striker’s blades out and struck fast, slicing up the soft part of the Kaiju and stabbing at it as it came at them with furious abandon. It’s claws scored deep furrows into the metal and they both screamed as the pain raked across their backs.They pushed on ahead, ignoring it as they dug the blades in deeper.

But they still held on long enough to twist the blades and pull the entrails out and leave the Kaiju to screech as it fell to its knees and slump forward as its life leaked out of its body and turn the ocean a bright, incandescent blue.

They sliced up the body even more as they got the blades out of the carcass, nearly all of Striker coated with Kaiju blue as they did. The blue was corroding the outer shell and Herc realized with a pang that Striker was more than likely done after this battle. The metal was becoming weak, the blue being more corrosive than before and already, they were getting warnings of the hull being compromised.

“You need to clear the area, Striker. The blue’s got you! The hull is compromised! Get out now!”

~*~*~*~*~*

Chuck found himself sitting on the edge of the bed his elbows resting on his thighs and his hands clasped so damned tight that his nails were leaving bloody crescents on the backs of his hands. Raleigh was still alive out there, and that brought some comfort, but not enough. His old man was out there still, he hoped. But neither thought brought him any kind of peace of mind. He wouldn’t be comforted until he knew that Raleigh was back in the Shatterdome.

He supposed that he could have gone out into the Loccent room and waited there, right by Tendo’s elbow, but he couldn’t bring himself to be there. He didn’t want to be there and see the red dots blink out. Nor could he be there and not relive the sickening, nauseating horror that had coloured his last mission. It hadn’t been an issue when he had been working on Gipsy and calculating specs. But Jaegers were comforting. The Loccent room brought it all back: The dizzying and breath-taking pain of the concussion, the pain as his body was given over to the electrical storms going on in his brain and then…

He swallowed hard at the sudden rush of saliva that had flooded his mouth without warning. He closed his eyes and rubbed hard at his prickling eyelids. As he rubbed slow circles, he heard the door open and his shoulders stiffened until the scent of sweet sandalwood and fir hit his nose. Although he didn’t recognize the secondary scent, the first he had known all too well from his childhood.

He stopped rubbing his eyes and opened them to see the Omega that had thawed out his old man standing there with a thermos and two battered mugs that had been no doubt swiped from a life before and used to keep a line across the past, present, and tenuous future. He sat up and straight and watched as Yancy Becket moved the table closer to the bed, set his cargo down and then slid the desk chair closer.

Despite never meeting him, Chuck was fully aware of who he was. Not just because of the scent, but also because of his features. Although he was slightly more ginger than Raleigh and his features were blunter, he could see the same kindness and steel mixed in equal measure in his dark blue eyes. He could understand why his old man would fall for him. Biology aside, the Beckets were a compelling force to be reckoned with.

Chuck also noted that Yancy was also wearing Herc’s jacket and he was close to snorting in amusement at that until it dawned on him that he was wearing Raleigh’s sweater. He settled instead for finally talking to his father’s bondmate rather than staring at him as if he was angry at having his solitude interrupted. Yancy sat back with a quiet grunt and reached for the large thermos.

“What’s that?” Chuck asked, only to break the silence as they sat there, helpless and with their hands tied as they waited for their Alphas to come back and the war to finally get a definite conclusion. The old bitter anger welled up in him again at his injury, hot and thick and almost choking with its intensity. Despite having come to terms with it at times like this the old emotions came back in full force. It wasn’t logical, he knew that. Even if he had been able to pilot, his kit would have made that a moot point anyway.

He had the proof right in front of him. Even though Yancy’s arm had healed up, he was still grounded. Despite destroying Knifehead, the PPDC hadn’t been too happy about a breeding Omega piloting and nearly getting killed. Chuck hadn’t heard the whole story, but he knew enough from Raleigh’s cold anger and the paperwork that followed right after.  

“Hot chocolate. It’s not like we can drink at this stage in the game.” Yancy replied as he poured out the steaming hot chocolate that filled the room with spicy, rich sweetness and made him relax just a fraction.

“Couldn’t drink even if I wanted to. Thanks.” Chuck replied as Yancy handed him the cup. He sniffed it and was surprised that he could pick out cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices he hadn’t ever guessed would be good in chocolate.

“Huh.” Yancy replied, pouring himself a cup and shutting the thermos right after and leaving the chocolate to cool down just a bit.

“Why not? Other than the kit, I mean.” Yancy asked.

“It interferes with the meds I take for epilepsy. Parting gift from the last Kaiju my old man and I fought.” Chuck replied, keeping his tone light and his eyes focused on the rich dark brown liquid in his cup.

He expected the conversation to go to a standstill, or to get awkward, but neither of those things happened and he was glad of it. He didn’t think he would be able to deal with his own emotions and be able to monitor Raleigh’s thread at the back of his mind.

“Fuck. Rough deal you got there. Sucks to hear it. You and your dad were good. Almost as good as Raleigh and I.” Yancy replied, making Chuck scowl at him before Yancy smirked at him and Chuck rolled his eyes.

“We had a higher kill count.” Chuck couldn’t resist but to point out, making Yancy scowl that time and finally take a sip of his hot chocolate.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before it was Yancy that spoke up.

“Do you miss it?”

Chuck nodded, not meeting Yancy’s eyes as he did. It still hurt, admitting that he missed something that he wasn’t ever going to get to have again. It was hard to explain to someone that hadn’t known what it was like to be in a Jaeger. But with his old man, Raleigh and now Yancy, it wasn’t hard. They knew and it was getting easier to talk about it and the words were coming easier rather than getting stuck in his throat as they once did.

“Once in a while. It was harder in the beginning, when the program was still running in Australia. But once we got shut down it didn’t matter. And when we came to the Ice Cube and with the kit and restoring Gipsy, it was a moot point.”

He looked up at Yancy then, watching as he lifted his own cup to his lip and was about to take a drink when Yancy’s eyes widened and the cup slipped out of his grip to crash into pieces all over the table, spilling hot chocolate everywhere.

“Yancy? You all right? Yancy?” Chuck asked, as he put his cup down amongst the liquid that was looking like dried blood as it spread across the table and dripped down to the floor in rivulets.

“Herc...Herc...I can’t feel him…” Yancy gasped out, tears flooding down his face as he looked at Chuck with a horror stricken expression.

“What? How?” Chuck asked as he stood up and went to Yancy, pulling him to his feet while staring at his face, trying to make sense of what he had just heard.

Yancy’s mouth worked open and closed and his breathing got short and panicky, making Chuck tighten his grip on Yancy’s arms to make him focus.

It worked for a minute before Yancy’s eyes widened and he gracelessly collapsed into Chuck’s arms.

Chuck swallowed hard and clumsily held Yancy up, while searching for Raleigh’s presence in the back of his mind.

It was like looking for a red thread in a darkened room. He could see flashes of it and he would hunt for it, only to have it disappear and reappear again.

But when he was close to grasping it and pulling it back, it snapped.

~*~*~*~*~

Tendo was surrounded by Gottlieb on one side and Geizler on the other as he kept an eye on the screen, two green dots requiring all his attention. He was damned well aware that he was praying under his breath and the rosary around his hand was wound tight enough around his hand for the old beads to cut into his palm.

He was so focused on the screen that he didn’t notice the fighting and shouting until he chanced a glance and went back to staring at the screen. Only for a moment, since his head jerked back and he really looked this time around.

It was Chuck Hansen and Yancy Becket that had appeared, both looking like they had run for miles and with bloodshot eyes that looked as if they had been weeping blood. Gottlieb and Geizler were doing their best to calm them down, but Chuck wasn’t having any of it. Yancy was holding back, but only just. Tendo hadn’t worked with the Beckets for nothing to not recognize the telltale lines of anguish around his bloodless mouth and the tightness around his eyes.

He was silent, but the same suppressed rage and sadness was in him, just barely held back, while Chuck was letting it loose.

“Where the fuck are they?” Chuck was yowling, making everyone wince at the sound that only frantic and breeding Omegas tended to make when in dire distress.

At the question, Tendo turned back to the screen and resumed watching, waiting for the breach to be closed, for more escape pods, for anything to happen.

Tendo frowned and twisted the rosary tighter, wincing as his flesh was finally cut and blood dripped down his hand. He only had signals. Nothing else, ever since Striker had dispatched the last Kaiju Gipsy had sunk into the breach and detonated to be the payload that Striker couldn’t bring to the breach.

Yet they were still waiting to see if it had been successful.

The Kaidanovs had been rescued and the choppers were still out, combing the waters for Rangers Hansen and Mori and hopefully Raleigh and the Marshall. He wasn’t holding out hope for the second one, but he wasn’t going to be responsible for Chuck having a miscarriage in the Loccent room. No. He wouldn’t say anything until there was no hope. Until they were forced to admit that they were gone. Until-

More beeps and spluttering came over the comm link, making everything go so quiet that they could hear cups and instruments dropping.

Tendo’s eyes widened as the blue that detonated the breach blinked out of the screen and three green dots appeared instead.

“Choi! Choi! We need help!”

At the sound of Mako’s voice, Tendo let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding and let go of the rosary.

It was all over.

~*~*~*~*

“Nearly done. It’s a mess. The joint getting torn was the worst, but the burns didn’t help any. You’ll heal, but you’re not going to be winning fights for awhile.”

The doctor told him as he finished wrapping Herc’s shoulder and immobilizing it by wrapping it up against his chest.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” Herc muttered as he endured the doctor’s administrations, wincing only a few times as the sling was tied off and the doctor moved on to stitch the still bleeding gash at his forehead and the long cut across his cheek that he knew was going to leave a deep scar.

“There. You’re not going to be as pretty as before, but you’ll live.”

“Then that’s all I care about.”

Herc turned and bit off the cry of pain the movement caused as he watched Yancy walk into the cubicle. He looked almost as bad as Herc knew he did and his instincts reared up, demanding that he go over to protect and reassure his alpha. He was already sliding off the medical table, but was stopped by the doctor and by Yancy.

“Easy there. You may be an Alpha, but you just survived getting ejected from a corroding Jaeger. No one is that tough. Not even you, Hansen.”

She moved away then, to look for painkillers, leaving Yancy and Herc enough time for Yancy to kiss him, soft and delicately on his swollen and cut up mouth before the doctor turned around with the bottles and shoved them towards Yancy.

Herc and Yancy looked at each other and Herc smiled. Yancy bit his lip and took a deep breath. Although he had heard the facts, he still couldn’t believe that it had happened. He couldn’t believe the war was over, never mind. But there it was.

“I’ll make sure he does just that.” Yancy told the doctor, the moment of awkwardness covered up smoothly by his interjection.

“I’m sure you will. Make sure he takes his meds and get him over here at any sign of infection, got it? Now go get a room. You’re not being subtle about it.”

Yancy and Herc turned beet-red at that offhand remark and got out as fast as Herc could make himself walk.

They walked in silence until they reached their quarters, Herc feeling slightly self-conscious as he had Yancy help him get undressed and get settled in the bed before lying down beside him, careful to not jostle his injured side. They lay like that, with Yancy lying on his side and watching him, their scents growing thicker and hazier as time passed before Yancy finally took the initiative.

“Would you be up for it then?” Yancy asked, making Herc bark out a laugh.

~*~*~*~*~*

The first thing Raleigh registered when he woke up was that he was surrounded by warmth that smelled like the freshest ocean breeze, sharp and cold and with just the slightest hints of sweetness. The second thing was that his left side was nearly numb from a heavy weight lying on it. Getting his heavy eyelids open, he was both relieved and touched to see Chuck had wrapped himself around him and that he was still wearing Raleigh’s sweater, which smelled faintly of Yancy's hot chocolate.

He shifted just a bit and smiled when Chuck raised his head and scowled at him blearily. A scowl that melted into weary relief before Chuck somehow managed to pull him into an embrace.

“You gotta stop doing this, Becket.” Chuck whispered, his eyes red and suspiciously wet as he looked into his Alpha’s eyes. Raleigh bit his lip and got his hand loose from all of the lines to cup Chuck’s face with his hand, rubbing his lower lip as he looked at him. A sight that he wasn’t sure he would see when the oxygen started running out and everything faded to black.

“It’s the last time. I promise.”He whispered. “It’s over.”

“I’ll hold you to that promise. _We’ll_ hold you to that promise.” Chuck replied harshly, voice rough from pent up emotion.

“I know. I know.”

Chuck bit his lip and let out a breath as he fisted his hand in Raleigh’s hospital gown. He opened his mouth to say something when Raleigh took the chance and finally kissed Chuck first, without warning.

Chuck stiffened only a fraction of a second before he melted into the kiss, going boneless in the warmth of his Alpha’s arms.

END.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tendo's rosary was something that I couldn't help but to be painfully aware of and had to mention it here. He's got someone out there too, so he wouldn't be adverse to praying to get them back. So in my verse, he's half Spanish/Portuguese and does have some faith. Rosaries and religious paraphenalia in China are super, super rare, so for him to have it indicates faith. 
> 
> Chuck finally gets to meet Yancy and although it was highly emotional, I wanted them to meet as equals and a bit wary of each other. They are double-family and that has to be a bit weird.
> 
> Alexis and Sasha live in this one and it was mostly a tactical decision. 
> 
> Herc's scar is a nod to Mack Gerhardt's scar in the Unit. Couldn't resist. Sorry. 
> 
> Cheers and thanks to all that read and enjoyed. Much appreciated.


	10. The Most Amazing Things Can Come From Some Terrible Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically, a glimpse of what comes next now that the war is done for Herc and Yancy, Raleigh and Chuck and Tendo and Mako as a bonus.

Chuck was trying desperately to fall asleep in the nest that he made for himself in their quarters, the duvets and fuzzy blankets a stark contrast with the utilitarian of the Shatterdome. He had tried to make it as homey as he possibly could, his instincts going into overdrive as his pregnancy progressed. He had been agitated about it not being as perfect as he had pictured it in his mind and had snapped at Raleigh a couple of times as he worked on the nest until he had gotten it almost right.

It was his first night in it and he was trying to enjoy the hard work he had put into it. But he was uncomfortable with the kit moving and shifting all over the place and Raleigh gone overnight. It was a necessary trip, doing the meet and greet as the hero he was and Chuck understood it all too well. He had seen Herc and Uncle Scott do it back in the day. He had done it himself. But it didn't ease the pang of not having his Alpha close now that the birth was just a week or two away.

At the thought of it, another pain hit him low in the back, making him sit up.

“Motherfucker!” He hissed and rubbed the ache with his knuckles. He tried to ease the pain out and the worry that accompanied that it was time. That the kit was going to come now and Raleigh was nowhere in sight. He knew he could always call his dad if push came to shove, but the idea of having his father there as he whelped made him feel horribly awkward. His father's scent would be all over the place and he was sure that Raleigh would lose it if he were to be handed a kit with another Alpha’s scent all over. It just wasn’t done.

“Hold on, kid. Hold on.” Chuck muttered, rubbing until the pain had stopped and he could lie back down and attempt to sleep once again. He had just closed his eyes when the door slid open as quietly as it was possible and the Ocean fresh scent he had missed filled the room. He turned his head and smiled briefly at the sight of a weary and travel-stained Raleigh wearing his rumpled dress blues and carrying a teddy bear with a ridiculous blue ribbon around its' neck.

“You're home early.” Chuck noted, propping himself up on his elbows to watch Raleigh throw his overnight bag and jacket over the chair before putting the toy down on top of it.

“They let us go after the conference once they found out you and Yancy are this close to breeding the kits.” Raleigh replied, stripping off his uniform quickly and efficiently and dressing in his usual vest and track bottoms before crawling into the nest. Up close, Chuck could see the dark circles under Raleigh's eyes and sense the exhaustion that fairly radiated from him.

“I'm not that close, but anything's better than sitting and answering the same seven questions worded differently over and over again, right?” Chuck asked, making Raleigh snort and shake his head before nuzzling Chuck's shoulder.

“It's been six months, give or take a few days. There's no way I'd leave again.” Raleigh mumbled, his lips pressing into Chuck's skin wetly, making the Omega shudder and finally relax. Once his body relaxed, the nagging pains went away, leaving him pliant and comfortable enough to finally sleep.

He didn't know how long he slept for exactly. All that Chuck knew was that when he woke up, something had shifted inside of him. His hips hurt and his legs felt loose. His scent was also sharper and less sweet.

He also needed to pee desperately.

Extricating himself from Raleigh's octopus grip, which was a feat in itself, Chuck managed to crawl out of the nest and make his way as fast as he could to the bathroom. He had already had a couple of close calls and he wasn't keen on it happening when he was roughly the size of a whale and awkward as hell as well. He sighed in relief when he made it and relieved himself. The kit kicked him a couple of times as he washed his hands and went to brush his teeth.

He had just finished rinsing his mouth when his entire vision clouded and the worst pain imaginable squeezed his pelvis. He didn't know if he cried out or not as he desperately grabbed onto the sink to stay on his feet as the wave of agony passed.

“Chuck! What happened?” Raleigh's voice, calm and collected was in his ear. Chuck panted and tried to stand up straight, but gave it up when he felt something snap and water rush down his legs.

“I think I just pissed myself.” Chuck gritted out, his eyes narrow slits as he looked at his wet track bottoms.

“I think your water broke, actually.” Raleigh replied in the same quiet voice as he wrapped his arms around Chuck.

“What? Fuck no. It's too early!” Chuck feebly protested as Raleigh half-walked, half-carried him to the nest that already had been prepared for the birth.

“Tell that to the kit. He thinks it's time. I don't think you can argue.” Raleigh commented, undressing Chuck and getting the sterile birthing box that the doctor had given them last month.

He took out a wet wipe and gave it to Chuck to clean up, not wanting to take a risk of getting a kick to the head by touching him there at such a delicate time.

“The fuck I won't. It's-” Chuck's arguing petered off into a low keen of pain as another contraction hit him.

“Face it, the kit's got two mules for parents. You won't win.” Raleigh replied, pushing pillows behind Chuck's back. He put water bottles out and took out towels and alcohol swabs.

Chuck's eyes were green slits in his flushed face as he turned to glare at Raleigh.

“Oh you would think so.” Chuck gritted out as he moved to sit up.

“I know so. Just like I know you're going to be fine.” Raleigh replied, relieved that Chuck was still ready to snipe back at him and not focus on what was happening. Although they knew what was supposed to happen, Raleigh was terrified as all out.

Fighting monsters and dropping a bomb into the breach had been harrowing, but at least he knew the variables and what to expect. But sitting there, watching Chuck give birth to their kit? He had no clue how they were going to get through with it. And after? Raleigh wasn't ready. He knew Chuck wasn't either from nights of staying up and whispering in the dark about how he was only twenty-two, a washed up Jaeger pilot and no idea what to do with a kit. He had comforted Chuck while tamping down his fears and convincing himself that it was going to be fine.

But now, seeing Chuck naked and-Oh God, what the hell was that? Blood?

He didn't have time to completely freak out because at that moment, Chuck reared up and yowled, his claws ripping up the sheets behind him and more blood and something-

“I can see the head already at your entrance!” Raleigh exclaimed in horror, making Chuck glare at him.

“That is how they get out, I've been told!” Chuck snarled out, but without heat as his body contracted, forcing him to bear down and push. And push again when it happened, continuing the cycle until sweat was dripping into his eyes and his throat was sore from screaming. It kept on going, in intermittent waves of relief and agony until he finally screwed up his eyes and with Raleigh's encouragement, pushed.

He blanked out for a few moments before he came to, lying on his back and blinking up at the ceiling as the sound of his kits’ mewling cries filled the room.

“Chuck! You did it! He's gorgeous! Look at him!” Raleigh exclaimed, placing their hastily scrubbed up kit on his chest. Chuck reached up to cradle him with shaky arms, the adrenaline and endorphins rushing through him as he touched the soft skin of his kit.

“Hey.” He wanted to say more, but he was overwhelmed by emotions as he looked into his kit's face. He had Raleigh's eyes and his dad's sticky out ears. His mouth and Raleigh's chin. Even so young, he could see it all. A kit he hadn't really thought he would have. Another Hansen. Another Becket.

“He's perfect.” Raleigh breathed as he pressed a kiss on Chuck's sweaty temple. Chuck tried to laugh, but it came out as a sob instead.

“You did good. Better than good, love. You did great.” Raleigh murmured, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close enough to bury his nose in his hair.

Chuck opened his mouth to reply, but he only got as far as saying his Alpha's name before bursting into tears, surprising both of them.

~*~*~*~*

“So you were first this time, huh kid?” Yancy asked as he held the newest Becket-Hansen in his arms, who only stared back at his uncle with wide eyes. Although three weeks old, he still was on the small side. It happened with male Omega births and the doctors reassured them he was healthy and would catch up right away. But for now, he was still the size of a full term newborn and only now able to receive visitor's after the two week familial bonding period.

Chuck snickered from his chair, his posture loose and relaxed as he watched Yancy meet with their kit. Raleigh was right beside him and their hands were intertwined, a desire for near constant contact awakened in them after the birth of their kit. It wasn't as dire as it had been when they had first bonded, but it was still there and they had been assured that it was just another way that biology worked to tie them together after the birth of a kit. A kit that could occasionally be seen as an interloper by an Alpha if he didn't properly renew his bonds with his mate.

“I did also lose my virginity first, don't forget that.” Raleigh replied nonchalantly, making Chuck laugh and Herc roll his eyes while Yancy glared daggers at his brother.

“And now that we've gotten the awkward teasing out of the way, what's my grandson's name?” Herc asked as he leaned over Yancy to look at the kit.

“Jackson Abel.” Raleigh replied as he rubbed circles on Chuck's hand with his thumb. Chuck grinned slightly. The name had been a fight and a half until they finally had gotten the newly reinstated Max to choose. Raleigh still claimed that Tendo had rigged the results by spoiling him all those months he had the dog, but no one listened to him. So Jackson had been the winner and Abel had been added as a peace offering. Or to shut Raleigh's infernal whinging, as Chuck was so often fond of saying. But no one was fooled and no one called him on it.

“Hey there, Jackson.” Herc greeted his grandson, who only blinked and yawned at his grandsire's greeting.

“Not easily impressed, like your old men, are you?“ Herc muttered, making Raleigh snicker.

“Well, they do have that in common.” Yancy added with a sotto voice, earning him a wounded look from Raleigh.

“Explains why they bonded so well.” Herc added. Yancy's mouth twitched and he was this close to bursting out into laughter over Raleigh's indignant expression when it happened.

“I'd say the same about you geezers, so don't push it unless you-Oh bloody hell!”

~*~*~*~*~

“Gotta say, kid. You do have the Hansen timing.” Herc murmured over his son as they sat in a rocking chair while Yancy slept. The birth had taken everything out of him and Herc had been sleeping right alongside him, but the snuffling whines of the kit had woken him up.

He had checked to make sure that he wasn’t too cold or needed a diaper change before feeding him from one of the already made bottles that he had made just in case the kit woke up during the night.

“Can’t blame you. It was a long day after all.” Herc whispered as he watched the kit drink down his milk. Herc stroked his son’s downy head carefully as he watched him, still in awe at having his and Yancy’s kit in his arms after all that had happened. He had never expected a second chance and Yancy hadn’t ever expected to breed, so the kit in his arms was still something he had to wrap his head around despite having the wounds and the proof in his arms.

“You were a big shock. Especially for your mom and your brother.” Herc commented, grinning as the kit’s eyes widened and then crinkled as he understood what his father was saying. Chuck had been surprised when Yancy had stiffened in the chair as his water broke. Although it had been a possibility of it happening, it was quite a shock still for it to happen in their new living room, the housing finally having come through after Jackson had been born.

“I have to admit it was for me too. Even though I had practice.” Herc continued in a low voice as the baby kept his eyes focused on his father.  The level of the bottle was going down, but the baby was still wide awake and watching him and Herc had to admit it was a bit daunting. He hadn’t expected to have another family at his age. Hell, he hadn’t even expected to come out of the wars alive. But there he was, with a grandson sleeping down the hall and a newborn in his arms while his Omega slept on.

“You’re not like your brother though. He was fussy. Barely let his mum sleep for the first two months.” Herc didn’t recall those days with fondness. He still had no clue how they managed to survive the constant wakefulness and a fretful Chuck who needed to be walked constantly. He shook his head and let his hand slide down the baby’s face so he could stroke the petal soft cheek of his face, thinking back when he had done the same to a sleepy Chuck as Angela had finally gotten her longest uninterrupted sleep since Chuck was born.

As if on cue, the kit spit out the bottle and Herc put the half-empty bottle on the side table to cradle his son against his shoulder to burp him. Herc patted the kit’s back lightly until he burped before getting up and walking him around. He had just made a circuit of the room when he saw Yancy was awake and watching them with a small smile on his face.

“Did I wake you?” Herc whispered. Yancy shook his head.

“I just woke up a little while ago. How is he?” Yancy asked in a sleep-roughened voice, prompting Herc to come to their bed and lie down next to him so that the kit was between them.

“Hopefully sleepy. He woke up hungry and I didn’t want to wake you when you looked so peaceful.”

“Thanks. This little one took out of me today. Speaking of him, we gotta give him a name. Any ideas?” Yancy asked, running his finger down the baby’s face and making him coo sleepily at him.

“Not junior.” Herc muttered, making Yancy snicker quietly.

“Hmm. How bout Dominic? Michael?  Shane?” Yancy suggested. Herc shrugged.

“They sound good as middle names.”

“You’re not thinking of naming him Stacker, are you?”

“I admired the man greatly, but that should be Mako’s call to make for one. For the other, that’s too much of a weighty name to saddle a child with. Think about it: Stacker William Hansen Becket.”

“...”

“Oh Jesus. Yeah. no. The kit would hate us until he could get his name changed. Any ideas?"

“...There was a bloke I met briefly. Did a mission together before the Breach. We got put on reconnaissance together and got talking before we saved each other’s asses from getting killed.”

“What was his name?”

“MacDonald James. Just called him Mack for short.”

“MacDonald Shane Hansen Becket. Yeah...It’s good.”

Herc turned to the kit and smiled down at his nearly asleep son. “Night, Mack.”

~*~*~*~*

Tendo looked up from the report he had been pretending to notate since Mako entered the bathroom and smiled at her, trying to put her at ease. She smiled quickly, making it look almost like a reflex as she made a beeline to the kitchen. She came back with the egg timer already ticking and propped it up on their desk. It was then that she sat down beside him. He put the notes away and looked at her.

“How long does it take?”

Mako bit her lip and looked at her watch.

“About five minutes or so.”

Tendo nodded. “Okay. So we just sit here and wait?”

“Pretty much.”

“Right. Okay. We can do that.”

Tendo was absentmindedly letting his rosary slip through his palms, his gaze fixed on nothing while Mako twined her fingers in her lap. The egg timer they had set in the corner, on top of the paperwork and schematics that covered their shared desk was happily ticking away and Tendo felt that it was the longest five minutes of his life. So focused was he on it that he jumped when it buzzed. Mako made a soft noise of surprise at that, but didn’t shirk from getting up and going into the bathroom.

“So?” Tendo asked, making Mako jump this time and drop the test.

She meant to pick it up before Tendo, but he got to it first.

He stared at it for several moments, not quite comprehending what he was seeing until he looked up and saw Mako’s tentative expression.

“So I guess we’re the ones going to be asking for a babysitter this time around?”

END

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Birth-Omegas make a nest to give birth in and stay there after the kit is a few weeks old. The entire family shuts itself off from the world to maintain their familial bond and get the kit acclamatized to the world. Alphas may see their own kits as a threat and that is why they need to strengthen the bonds with them and their Omegas.  
> Names-Sons of Anarchy got the honours again for Chuck choosing the names. Max choosing the names through food is a nod to Paul the Octopus picking the Euro and World Cup winners.  
> Mack Gerhardt is a nod to Martini's Unit character and the chronology works for Herc to have theoretically met and worked with him. Shane is a nod to Klattenhoff's character in Mean Girls. Original character names are usually Easter Egg nods to other roles the actors have played. Heh.
> 
> Title is from Fun.'s "Some Nights" and it is my favourite line. I know the song could be seen as sort of depressing, but to me, I see it as this bullheaded tenacity to keep on going in _spite_ of it being hard and terrible at times. There is some hope there. 
> 
> And now, this is the end and again, thanks to all that read, liked and commented. Cheers.


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